Top Ten Albums of 2018 / Rob "The Metal Guy Awards"

If someone was to tell me that 2018 was a poor year for hard rock and heavy metal music I would consider tying them to one of Elon Musks' SpaceX rockets and sending them off into space. In reality 2018 was another strong year for rock and metal music with plenty of impressive sounding releases. I know that moron from Maroon 5 says rock is "nowhere" but then again, his music is equal to that of horse manure, so what does he really know. I was pleased with the albums that came out this year and I do not think rock and metal are going "nowhere." People just need to pull their heads out of their asses, or do more goddamn research before opening their douche crusted hipster mouths. Here are my top ten picks of 2018 from some exceptional artists in the rock and metal world...

10. Skeletal Remains - Devouring Mortality

Skeletal Remains is a death metal band that knows how to craft some bombastic sounding old school death metal music, while also providing some solid elements of technicality. I feel like, “Devouring Mortality,” was definitely a step into more of a technical world compared to their previous releases, and I think the musicianship is becoming really impressive. Skeletal Remains is a strong act with more left to offer, so I am looking forward to how they can top this album.

9. Exmortus - The Sound of Steel

The shredding assault of Exmortus is still going strong and their new album. “The Sound of Steel,” does not disappoint. Exmortus is a band full of talented musicians and the guitar playing always stands out on each release. Their mixture of neoclassical shredding with thrash and death metal make for some epic and exciting cuts of metal. Plus, I always enjoy hearing battle themed lyrics accompanied by blistering lead guitar playing.

8. Petrification - Hollow of the Void

Gruesome, terrifying and paying homage too old school death metal, Petrification delivered a sinister sounding release this year with “Hollow of the Void.” These Portland, Oregon death metal musicians are exceptional players and wrote some really vicious tracks. I think they are definitely one of the strongest up and coming death metal acts to come out within the last couple years and a force to be reckoned with in the future.

7. Summoning - With Doom We Come

One of the most important bands in the world of atmospheric black metal, Summoning, is such an iconic force that when news of their new album came out fans were highly anticipating this new album. The bands 1995 release, “Minus Morgul,” is quite possibly the blue-print for atmospheric black metal and is an album that has inspired so many current artists within the sub-genre. “With Doom We Come,” features long epic pieces with lyrical content inspired by the works of Tolkien that pulls you into a world of cinematic musical fantasy. I think fans will be pleased to hear the band maintain a very epic atmospheric black metal sound.

6. Vargrav - Netherstorm

When I first heard Vargrav I was quickly reminded of Emperor and all those black metal bands who are able to successfully incorporate keyboards into their black metal sound. “Netherstorm,” is stellar blizzard of raw black metal, yet has these moments of cosmic melodic atmosphere. You can’t write this band off as another typical black metal band, because the riffs and song structures are very well crafted. There are no recycled riffs, or poorly written compositions. Each song flows with great synergy on this album, so you never lose interest when listening to it.

5. Abstracter - Cinereous Incarnate 

Another band from the Sentient Ruin roster, Abstracter did a tremendous job creating what could possibly be the soundtrack for the apocalyptic demise of humanity. The music is unbelievably heavy to where seismic shocks are sent out each time a chord is struck, or a cymbal smashed. Overall, these musicians are a solid unit and keep offering some wicked sounding tunes of destructive blackened sludge. 

4. Barren Altar - Entrenched in the Faults of the Earth 

I have seen Barren Altar a fair amount of times over the last few years and have interviewed the band on a couple occasions. To finally hear this Sonoma County based band release a devastating full-length album really made 2018 a solid year for extreme music. The dynamics and unique blend of black metal, death metal and doom metal sends chills down your spine, while also obliterating your speakers. The vocals on this album present tales of pure agony and inner anguish, which compliments the abysmal sounding instrumental compositions. 

3. Atrament - Scum Sect 

One of the most brutal sounding releases to come out this year, Atrament’s “Scum Sect” is a pulverizing assault of blackened death crust spewing hatred from the dark depths of the Bay Area. I thought the songwriting on this album was extremely well done and there were no throw away tracks throughout the album. Plus the overall production quality added a malevolent punch of musical insanity to your ears. When pertaining to underground extreme music, Atrament is one of the top up and coming acts around.

2. Cauldron - New Gods

Cauldron’s last album, “In Ruin,” was an impressive release from top to bottom in my opinion. The production and songwriting was flawless, so I looked forward to what they would do on their next album. “New Gods,” definitely maintains that same essence which can be heard on “In Ruin,” while taking a more melodic hard rock/classic metal approach at times. There are plenty of catchy riffs on this album along with very melodic song structures. The lyrics are well written and can get stuck in your head for hours. What is it about Canada and great rock and metal power trios? They just seem to know how to make them. 

1. Old Tower - Stellary Wisdom 

Old Tower, “Stellary Wisdom,” was without a doubt one of the most fascinating and most brilliant sounding releases to come out this year, hence why I have it as my number one pick of 2018. The artist behind this project known only as, The Specter, continues to demonstrate amazing composition skills by taking dungeon synth music and creating worlds of tranquil sounding darkness. The overall atmosphere on, “Stellary Wisdom,” is truly phenomenal and the consideration to detail and recording quality is so well done. For those who are looking for a great dungeon synth release I can tell you “Stellary Wisdom” is the album you should be checking out. 

Rob “The Metal Guy” Awards :

Best EP of the Year: Mournful Cries “Vices” 

Best Split Release of the Year: Putrid and Pathetic “Devorando Carne Divina” 

Best Live Album: Night Demon “Live Darkness” 

Label of the Year: Sentient Ruin

Best Live Performance: Trecelence (March 23 at the Phoenix Theater / Opening for Act of Defiance)

Up and Coming Artist of the Year: Blood Star

Most Metal Movie of 2018: Terrifier (First premiered in 2016 but I saw it in 2018)

Most Metal WWE Wrestler: Becky Lynch 

Most Obnoxious Group of People on the Planet: ANTIFA (For cancelling the Taake tour. Hoping they don't cancel any shows or tours in 2019...fucking dicks)

Biggest Douche Award: The dumbass from Maroon 5 with Gene Simmons as runner up (Surprisingly Gene wasn't as big of a douche this year as the previous year.) 

Exmortus "The Sound of Steel"

   Exmortus is a band known for their ferocious technicality and strong heavy metal sound. Their music is what you would want playing as you ride through a bloody battlefield swinging your axe and chopping off some heads. The band’s new album, “The Sound of Steel,” is another  savage sounding release of shredding, headbanging and axe swinging metal music.

   “The Sound of Steel,” is the band’s fifth full-length album to date and is very much a continuation of what fans heard on, “Slave to the Sword,” and “Ride Forth,” which are the bands last two full-length releases. I honestly felt the band really started to establish themselves after the release of, “Slave to the Sword.” Around the time that album came out I saw them live and was blown away by their passion and musicianship. They have always been a hard working band and over the years they keep the pedal down by constantly touring. I think the new music is exactly what made me enjoy the previous releases and once again presents a heavy sound that features some brilliant musicianship.

   Singer/guitarist and founding member, Conan Gonzales is the only returning member on this album, so I was interested to hear how the band would sound after losing three out of the four members featured on the last two releases. I do believe Conan found some talented musicians to play on this new album and I hope they stick around for a bit. On bass Phillip Nunez does a solid job laying down some powerful bass lines, while Carlos Cruz is a monster behind the kit. Handling the second guitar duties, I think Chase Becker provides some exceptional guitar parts and adds to the band’s vicious thrash sound.

   In terms of songwriting, the band delivers plenty of battle themed hymns of heavy metal might. The opening song, “Make Haste,” is a fearsome strike of metal force to the ears with an intense thrash like composition. Conan’s vocals compliment the music quite well and the song’s overall production quality is rather impressive. I would say the song gets the job done as an opening track. Is this something new and ground breaking? Not really, however, Exmortus has found their niche and their sound and playing style is very consistent. The second track off the album, “Feast of Flesh,” really caught my attention, especially since the riffs and delivery of the music is extremely aggressive. Also, the lead guitar playing is exceptionally well done and does not go off into unnecessary directions by just shredding random notes without any thought.

   Other songs that stand out are, “Into the Maw of Hell,” “Strength and Honor,” and “Riders of Doom.” The music is extremely well written and you are able to hear the strong heavy metal talents each member possesses during these songs. The instrumental song on this album, “A Minor Instrumental,” is yet another phenomenal instrumental track by this band and probably my favorite song off the album. Exmortus is sort of known in the metal world for coming up with some amazing instrumental pieces and their cover of, “Moonlight Sonata (Act 3),” is one song that I still reference as a great heavy metal instrumental piece.

   In the end, I do believe fans of Exmortus will be pleased with how this album turned out. I do think the band’s lyrical content and themes are nothing new from what I have already heard on previous albums, but it happens to work well with their style of metal, so I can't complain too much. If you are looking for consistency, I do find Exmortus to be a band that shall deliver a solid shield smashing and skull crushing release from beginning to end. Plus, you can count on these guys to tour relentlessly when the new album drops. Just like barbarian hordes, Exmortus will ride forth from town to town unleashing heavy metal chaos leaving no hipsters alive…Okay, maybe that is a bit extreme, but this is heavy metal people!



Check out the video for "Feast of Flesh" below:

Exmortus "Ride Forth"

    Exmortus have returned to the battle field with yet another sword swinging and shield clashing epic release of thrash and technical shredding brilliance. Their highly anticipated fourth full-length release, “Ride Forth,” is a combination of this band’s unbelievable instrumental talents and their undying passion for heavy metal music. 

    After the band’s last album, “Slave to the Sword,” one could not even begin to imagine how they could raise the bar and out do the musicianship featured on that amazing release. I think the band is easily one of metal’s most talented groups of musicians who can combine epic sounding thrash with complex technical playing that takes on an Yngwie like neoclassical approach to guitar shredding. The two guitarists David Rivera and Conan Gonzalez are a solid twin guitar attack team that delivers on every song. Also, the bassist they have on this new album, Michael Cosio, really provides an impact on how the release sounds. His bass playing on the instrumental track, “Appassionata,” is equally as mind blowing as that of the technical lead guitar playing. Lastly, drummer Mario Moreno has his hands full behind the kit following along to the demanding compositions. Overall, Exmortus is full of talented guys who know how to play their instruments. 

    Each of the nine tracks on, “Ride Forth,” offer listeners with plenty of tasty lead guitar parts, triumphant sounding riffs and epically written lyrics that are provided by Conan’s growls of fierce war like aggression. The beginning song, “Speed of the Strike,” is what most fans of technical thrash would desire to hear in a piece of music. As the guitar duo glides through melodic sounding scales, the drums and bass hammer away at a bombastic sounding rhythm. Right away Exmortus establishes a recognizable technical thrashing sound that is maintained throughout the release. Track two, “Relentless,” is one of the more catchy sounding songs on the album and offers a solid balance of shred and classic sounding metal. The lyrics are very triumphant and uplifting with lines like, “Brandish your swords up high... Dauntless and bold we face the endless horde.” 

    The third track, “For the Horde,” was released as a single before the entire album came out, so I had heard this track a few times before. I felt like the song was solid piece of metal music and it reminded me of certain songs that were on the previous album. The band definitely puts more emphasis on shredding with this new release and I felt like the album’s production tries to get listeners' to really recognize those lead guitar parts and quick guitar sweeps. “Let Us Roam,” was one song where the band shredded through technical parts, but also made way for slower and heavier verse sections. Probably my favorite song on the album, “Black Sails,” has that dynamic songwriting structure where you are engaged the entire time. The riffs are never one dimensional and the band was very creative with not only the instrumental parts, but also the lyrical imagery that they came up with. 

    The sixth sing on the album, “Hymn of Hate,” throws down more vicious compositions and insane lead guitar playing. Following it up is the instrumental, “Appassionata,” which takes the world Beethoven and heavy metal to forge one amazing piece of instrumental music. Exmortus’ version of, “Moonlight Sonata(Act 3),” I felt was more raw sounding when mixing the classical with metal which I really enjoyed. However, this new instrumental piece is extremely impressive and the musicianship all around is phenomenal. “Death to Tyrants,” and “Fire and Ice,” close the album out by never straying away from that strong thrash and shred mentality. Conan’s devilry on, “Death to Tyrants,” sounds unapologetic and even matches the attitude that can be heard during the snarling lead guitar parts. 

    When all nine tracks are finished, all those Exmortus fan who were looking to hear another smashing release full of wicked sounding technicality and triumphant battle themed lyrics shall be extremely pleased with, “Ride Forth.” I find my only slight critique to be that I preferred the production on, “Slave to the Sword,” which I felt at times conveyed a more raw and aggressive vibe. The production on “Ride Forth,” is by no means disappointing, but I think there is a slight difference in how certain areas were recorded. One example is Conan’s vocals that sounded a bit more extreme on the previous album and on this new album maintain a very consistent tone. 

    In the end, this new Exmortus album is highly worth checking out if you like technical thrash and crazy guitar shredding. The album is an enjoyable bone crushing listening experience that makes me want to grab a battle axe and charge into battle. Hail Exmortus and their glorious shredding talents that are so extreme that Disney wouldn’t let them play at the House of Blues in Anaheim...If Disney does not create an Exmortus themed ride they are seriously missing out on one awesome opportunity! 

Exmortus Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/exmortusofficial/?fref=ts

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Rob "the metal guy" Rants About Metal #15

    Looks like Disney Land won’t be creating a heavy metal themed ride called, “The Foe Hammer.” Hell, they won’t even let Exmortus play the House of Blues in Anaheim!

    Upon hearing that Exmortus was taken off of the Anaheim, CA House of Blues show with Marty Friedman, I was extremely confused and disappointed that Disney would do such a thing. I found out about the band being taken off of the show upon reading a post from the band’s label Prosthetic Records. Plus, the band confirmed by sharing an article from one of those other metal media websites that reports on stories with lightening quick speeds. Now, I am still trying to figure out why they were declined Disney approval to play? Did Exmortus fail to pass the Disney qualification test? Are they too extreme for the House of Blues in Anaheim? I just do not understand why the band is not allowed to play at the House of Blues!

    Until Disney or the House of Blues in Anaheim release a valid reason as to why they did not grant approval, I am going to continue to look at them as another entity that discriminates against heavy metal. Surprisingly, Exmortus played at the House of Blues in Anaheim back in 2013! What changed? Maybe Mickey Mouse is afraid more people will become slaves to the sword and less slaves to his annoying teen pop artists that will grow up to crash and burn like the Hindenburg.

    Next topic is about one of my least favorite music journal magazines and a rock musician who played in a band that I used to really respect until I found out he was a complete egotistical jerk. Yes, Rolling Stone asked Gene Simmons to review a track from Lamb of God’s new album. Anyone has the right to review anything in this country, but asking Gene Simmons to review Lamb of God is ridiculous. He did compliment the band on their instrumental sound during the song. However, being the old school music man that he is, expressed how the vocals were not to his liking. Not surprising because Gene still thinks , “I Was Made For Loving,” is on par with Beethoven.

    I understand that everyone can’t be a fan of harsh sounding metal vocals, but do not get a person to comment on a extreme metal release if they are only going to complain that the vocals aren’t melodic enough. If that is the case, go listen to melodic power metal or classic style metal bands Gene. Yeah, while you are at it, go listen to a band like Night Demon instead of doing pointless articles for Rolling Pebbles.

    Okay, that is enough for this week. I need to check my blood pressure after that last topic. Until next time, stay metal and thanks for reading these rants! \m/

Rock and Metal Temple Top Ten Albums of 2014

1. Exmortus-“Slave to the Sword”

Amazing lead guitar playing, creative instrumental compositions and plenty of heavy bone crushing songs. The band takes technicality to an unbelievable level, especially with their instrumental version of Beethoven’s, “Moonlight Sonata (Act 3).” The whole album is exciting and the music is extremely passionate. Saw them play live this year too and they sounded just as good live as they do on the album. I hope to see more great passionate metal releases from these guys in the future. So raise your battle axes and swords to Exmortus for they are my number one album of the year!

2. Protestant-“In Thy Name”

You can call them crust punk with a black metal edge, but I simply call them fierce unapologetic musicians who know how to make extreme music. When I was first sent this album to review, I did not expect to hear such an extreme furious sound. The drums and guitars never seem to slow down, and when the band does alter the tempo the music still maintains a heavy face kicking attitude. From the beginning track, “Vengeance,” to the last hard hitting piece, “Delusion,” the band takes listeners on an extreme emotional roller coaster.


3. Rude-“Soul Recall”

Old school death metal music played by an up and coming band from Oakland, CA. The album sounds like it could have been released around the the same time as Pestilence’s, “Testimony of the Ancients,” or Morbid Angel’s, “Alters of Madness.” Agonizing vocals mixed with brutal guitar compositions and thunderous double bass drums for the entire duration. If you wish you could have been alive during that old school death metal period, listen to “Soul Recall,” and it will be like taking a time machine...a brutal death metal time machine that is. 


4. Accept-“Blind Rage”

The iconic German metal band shows no signs of stopping and they just keep charging forward. All three albums with Mark Tornillo have been unbelievably solid, but this one in my opinion is the best yet. Wolf Hoffmann is a brilliant guitar player with such a dynamic style. Also, the songwriting was top notch from the start of the album to the end. Do a new album with original singer UDO? Hey, as long as Mark is singing in Accept I could care less if UDO returns.

5. Mastercastle-“Enfer”

Italy’s Mastercastle surprised me this year because, I had not heard of them before this year yet they have been around for a decent amount of time. Then again, I am very picky with my Power Metal. Overall, I really liked the blend of neo-classical metal with straight forward hard rock. The music was not overwhelming like most power metal music and the songs allowed the singer to use her voice to its full potential. Her emotional tone definitely caught my attention and it is one reason they are on this list.

6. Obituary-“Inked in Blood

The old school Florida death metal legends delivered. After about five years and a little help from a kickstarter fund, they got their stuff together and put out one brutal release. John Tardy’s vocals are still haunting as ever and whole band maintains that unforgiving death metal presentation. No signs of hanging it up and playing croquette at the old folks home for these guys.

7. Overkill-“White Devil Armory”

Whenever the New Jersey thrash icons put out an album I know they will not let me down. Compared to their fellow thrashers in the Big 4(Megadeth and Metallica mainly), these guys never strayed too far away from the thrash blueprint. Overkill is what I like to call your working mans thrash, and this album is a perfect example. Killer riffs, fierce vocals from Bobby and most important, mosh forming tunes that would knock down a house. Better strengthen the foundation when listening to this album.

8. Exodus-“Blood in Blood Out”

At first when news came out that Steve Souza would be singing on this album, there were some mixed feelings from the Exodus camp. However, I knew the guys would deliver a solid release and I think they damn well did with this album. The album is just nonstop brutal thrash metal that can be appreciated by all the old and new metal fans alike. Compared to Metallica, Exodus doesn't need to make movies to show how badass they are...they let the music do the talking.

9. Triptykon-“Melana Chasmata”

Personally I am not a huge Celtic Frost fan that worships ever note Tom G. Warrior comes up with, but I will say that the new music he creates with Triptykon is amazing. I really enjoyed the chilling musical atmospheres along with the dark melodic progressions. The songwriting contains such strong emotional expression and the whole release is very powerful. 


10. Innsmouth-“The Shadow Over Innsmouth”

Technical death metal dudes from Denmark who demonstrated great skill and composed awesome technical death metal. Also, they wrote a song about my favorite H.P. Lovecraft story, “The Colour Out of Space.” Overall, a solid release that I thought stood out from most bands in the genre.

Honorable Mentions that almost got in:
Ghoul “Hang Ten” (really not a full-length album, but I was going to maybe let it slide)
Gamma Ray “Empire of the Undead”
Eyehategod “Self-titled”

Concert Review: Hysteria, Exmortus, Allegaeon, Arsis

Exmortus!

    Technicality, sheer musical insanity and plenty of what the fuck moments, easily sums up went down Friday night in Walnut Creek, Ca. Well, of course I can elaborate further on the events that took place during the four band metal show at Red House Studios in Walnut Creek. Arsis, Allegaeon and Exmortus, are currently doing an extensive tour across North America and made a stop in Walnut Creek. Luckily for me Walnut Creek is not too far from where I go to college, so I was definitely not going to miss out on this show.
    The opening band for the night was the Bay Area’s own Hysteria who were added onto the bill. I have seen Hysteria before about a year ago, surprisingly around the same time, open for Havok. This local metal band really does stay true to the classic heavy metal formula. Their lead singer who also plays a mean guitar gives the band a really distinct sound. He has great stage presence and knows how to the crowd going. Hysteria tore through a short, yet very energetic set, full of blistering harmonic leads and crushing riffs. For the first band of the night, there was a decent amount of fans and I really hope more Bay Area fans begin to embrace Hysteria. I think these guys just need to keep pouring out the metal energy, and eventually, they will get their name further out in the metal world.
    The second band to take the stage was the extreme technical thrash/death group from southern California, Exmortus. Earlier this year the band released their third full-length album, “Slave to the Sword,” and have been touring non-stop it seems like since the album’s release. One cannot forget to point out this band’s amazing technical guitar playing abilities. The twin guitar attack of Exmortus really gives their music an extra kick in the pants, and it showed during their set. From the start of their set to the end, Exmortus looked enthusiastic up on stage and played their hearts out. David Rivera and Conan Gonzalez played some blazing lead guitar parts while constantly banging their heads. Bassist Aldo Bibiano and drummer Mario Moreno were a solid rhythm section that laid down plenty of thunderous jams for the lightening guitar shredding to take place. All four of these guys are tremendous up and coming musicians who know how to put on a killer show. One memorable moment during their set that really stood out, was when David and Conan put their guitars behind each other’s backs and played the other guy’s guitar. I thought they were insane shredders to begin with, but this behind the back dual guitar trick just unbelievable. The crowd was going nuts during the whole set and once the band finished their set, the ravenous metal loving concert goers wanted more. So, the band played one more song, which was a cover of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Bark at the Moon.” David put down his guitar and sang the song with plenty of passion channeling his inner Ozzy. Conan of course shredded his way through the metal classic and would have made Jake E. Lee very proud.
    Now, the third band Allegaeon, I was not very familiar with and felt bad because I had pronounced their name wrong a couple times during my radio show when talking about this concert. This five piece Colorado melodic death metal band was a bit of a pleasant surprise, but also a bit of a repetitive random shred machine. Their singer was simply awesome and did a great job interacting with the crowd. If there are any young up and coming frontmen out there, the singer in Allegaeon can help give you some pointers. Just the way he carried himself onstage really showed how he cared about the music he was playing and the people he was playing for. The two guitar players were good and ripped through melodic scales like it was no big deal. However, after a couple songs I became tired of hearing the random shredding and finger tapping. If not for the main crushing head banging style riffs, I would have easily lost interest. I would say they are amazing musicians who have a singer that seems to be a natural perform, but the style of technical melodic death metal can carry on for far too long.
    Arsis, the veteran melodic death metal band from the East Coast, was the last band to take the stage. By the time they began their set the crowd was beginning to get rowdy and the pit was getting larger. I was having to keep pushing people back in after they would fall chaotically out. Arsis is an amazing live act that just delivers precise technical musical abilities that one cannot sometimes begin to fathom. They played their first album, “A Celebration of Guilt,” in its entirety along with some other extreme metal songs. James Malone the singer and guitarist is an energetic frontman and even more ridiculously talented musician. He plays with great fluidity and can hammer out some ear shattering riffs. One could tell these guys have been playing for a long time and know how to melt the minds of melodic death metal fans. Towards the end of their set the band even played a WASP cover that was surprisingly good. 
    Eventually some of the drunks were beginning to fall down, but the crowd for the most part kept roaring and throwing the devil horns up in the air until the final song. Overall it was an enjoyable night of amazing musicianship that showed why metal bands are no musical schmucks. These guys can play their instruments and if you need proof, just catch one of these bands the next time they play your town. Trust me, your mind will explode from the constant shredding and technical madness. You have been warned...

Arsis!