End of 2011

I'm going to try to fit in posts on all my favorite albums of the year. Then when I'm done with that I'll make my best of 2011 list and provide links to those posts. How thoughtful of me....

Generation of Vipers - Howl and Filth (2011)

Tracklist

1. Ritual 07:52

2. Silent Shroud 06:32

3. All Of This Is Mine 02:55

4. Eternal 04:08

5. Slow Burn 07:58

6. The Misery Coil 09:09

Sludge/Post-metal/Heavy

Knoxville, TN

Red Witch Recordings/Self-release

This band has been around since 2004 and features members of U.S. Christmas and A Storm of Light. This album was recorded by Kurt Ballou (converge) at Godcity Studios. It sounds like Neurosis fighting Unsane. So why the fuck hasn't me or anyone else heard of this band?

My first thought was that maybe they just aren't that good. I hadn't heard them before so I couldn't judge until I checked it out. I can't speak for their earlier work, because I have still yet to listen to it, but after listening to the first song on "Howl and Filth" I knew this was something special. I feel bad for these guys because they definitely should have a larger following. They run the record label that they're on, which is great and all, but it probably doesn't help them too much in the promotion department. That's what I'm here for though, right?

"Howl and Filth" sounds like if Unsane were to play lower, or if Neurosis were to play more straight-forward. Basically making this album really heavy. This last song, "The Misery Coil," is one of the heaviest songs that 2011 has to offer. It's not the best album of the year but it will certainly go down as the most overlooked. Do yourself a favor and check it out. I put youtube videos on here so how hard can it be?

full-album stream

purchase($3 digital copy - do it) | download (but seriously just buy it for $3!)

Weekend Nachos - Worthless (2011)

Tracklist

1. Hometown Hero

2. Obituary

3. Black Earth

4. For Life

5. Old Friends Don't Mean Shit

6. Frostbitten

7. The Meeting

8. Worthless

9. Friendship

10. Jock Powerviolence

11. The Fine Art Of Bullshit

12. Dubviolence

13. You Could Exist Tomorrow

14. Future

Hardcore/Power-violence/Sludge

Chicago, IL

Relapse Records/Deep Six Records

Here is my favorite pissed off record of 2011. This record is as fast as power-violence records and as slow as sludge metal records. Yet, it's still hardcore. Weekend Nachos prove on "Worthless" that they are the kings of this style. They're just way too pissed off and violent sounding for anyone else to even come close. If you've heard any of their past releases you know what I'm talking about. However, on this album the vocals are a lot different. They're actually more accessible than the old PV style of vocals they used to do. Although they're more accessible they still benefit the anger of this album, more so than the old style of vocals would have. This album is as heavy as a dump truck on top of your body, which makes it difficult to kill someone, even though you're really going to want to. It's hard for bands like this to create LPs that keep you interested the whole time. This sound can definitely get monotonous. WN do a great job of keeping the album short and enthralling enough that you're going to listen to it all the way through each time. There isn't really a stand out track since they are all really good. I had a hard time picking one for a video, but I went with this one because I think it represents everything the album does well.

purchase | download

True Widow - As High as the Highest Heavens and from the Center to the Circumference of the Earth (2011)

Tracklist

1. Jakyl 5:50

2. Blooden Horse 7:05

3. N.H. 6:40

4. Skull Eyes 3:45

5. Wither 5:10

6. Boaz 7:22

7. Night Witches 3:16

8. --------:---::: 0:56

9. Doomseer 9:06

slowcore/doom/shoegaze/post-rock/stonegaze

Dallas, TX

Kemado Records

You may notice under genre something called "stonegaze." What the hell is stonegaze you ask? Well, it's a term the band coined to describe their music and it actually works really well. Imagine music at the pace of slowcore bands like Bedhead and Codeine. Really slow and drawn out, slightly similar to post-rock but not dreamy or spacey sounding. Now put that with down-tuned bass and guitar. Throw in really loud instrumentation that brings shoegaze to mind, although True Widow has more bass presence than guitar. Is it making sense why they describe it as "stonegaze" yet? After a couple listens one may want to pass this off as music to sleep to or music to get really high to. While that is true, it doesn't tell the whole truth. After a few more listens, once the songs become more familiar, it will become apparent that this album can be listened to and enjoyed at any time. It is at this point when I realized how incredibly good this album is. This is my favorite and most listened to album of 2011. It's beautiful, heavy, has amazing tones, excellent male and female vocals, and overall is one of the most fantastic listens available from 2011 releases. I highly recommend this to anyone that has musical patience and enjoys slower music. Check out the song below and LISTEN TO THE FUCKING BASS.

purchase | download