Kingdom of Noise Top 40 Albums of 2013

2013 was a damn good year for metal. I didn't listen to as much as I did in 2012 though. I spent more time with albums as I tried to write the best reviews I could. I was writing for other people now and not just myself. That being said, I did listen to a LOT of music. I posted what did slip past me last year and I have picked up on some of those albums. But this is about what really turned my crank last year. I could make a list of 100 albums that are worthy of my recommendation but I'll go with the usual 40.
However, I won't be breaking each one down with a blurb as I have in years past. I simply don't have the time. And since I already wrote about most of them it seems kind of redundant.
So without further ado, MetalMatt's Top 40 Albums of 2013 (with accompanying review links, mine or those of friends).
And don't pay too much attention to the order up to around #20.

40.  Full of Hell - Rudiments of Mutilation (A389) Reviewed for Ghost Cult Magazine.
39. Nails - Abandon All Life (Southern Lord) Kevin Sirois' review at About Heavy Metal.
38. Phil Anselmo & The Illegals - Walk Through Exits Only (Housecore) Reviewed for About Heavy Metal.
37. Sepultura - The Mediator Between The Head And Hands Must Be The Heart (Nuclear Blast) Reviewed for About Heavy Metal.
36. Inter Arma - Sky Burial (Relapse) Reviewed for Hellbound.
35. Adoran - Adoran (Consouling Sounds) Reviewed for About Heavy Metal.
34. Monster Magnet - Last Patrol (Napalm) Reviewed for Scratch the Surface.
33. Fell Voices - Regnum Saturni (Gilead Media) Reviewed for Hellbound.
32. Ash Borer - Bloodlands (Gilead Media) Reviewed for Hellbound.
31. Cara Neir - Portals to a Better, Dead World (Halo of Flies/Broken Limbs) Reviewed for Metal Bandcamp.
30. Exhumed - Necrocracy (Relapse) Dean Brown's review for Scratch the Surface.
29. A Storm of Light - Nations to Flames (Southern Lord) Reviewed for About Heavy Metal.
28. Earthless - From the Ages (Tee Pee) Reviewed for Ghost Cult Magazine.
27. Inquisition - Obscure Verses for the Multiverse (Season of Mist) Dave Schalek's review for About Heavy Metal.
26. Yellow Eyes - Hammer of Night (Sibir) Reviewed for Metal Bandcamp.
25. Oranssi Pazuzu - Valonielu (Svart) Bill Haff's review for Scratch the Surface.
24. Castevet - Obsian (Profound Lore) Reviewed for Hellbound.
23. Lychgate - Lychgate (Gilead Media) Reviewed for Hellbound.
22. Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats - Mind Control (Rise Above) Karen Mann's review for About Heavy Metal.
21. Uzala - Tales of Blood and Fire (King of the Monsters) Reviewed for Scratch the Surface.

#20-11 are pretty fluid too.

20. Magister Templi - Lucifer Leviathan Logos (Cruz Del Sur) Reviewed for About Heavy Metal.
19. Shooting Guns - Brotherhood of the Ram (self) Reviewed for Hellbound.
18. Beaten to Death - Dødsfest! (Mas-Kina) Reviewed for Metal Bandcamp.
17. Corrections House - Last City Zero (Neurot) Reviewed for About Heavy Metal.
16. Demon Lung - The Hundredth Name (Candlelight) Reviewed for Ghost Cult Magazine.
15. Vista Chino - Peace (Napalm) Reviewed for Scratch the Surface.
14. Kylesa - Ultraviolet (Season of Mist) Reviewed for Hellbound.
13. Skeletonwitch - Serpents Unleashed (Prosthetic) Reviewed for Scratch the Surface.
12. Pyres - Year of Sleep (Granite House) Reviewed for Ghost Cult Magazine.
11. KEN Mode - Entrench (Season of Mist) Reviewed for Hellbound.
10. Windhand - Soma (Relapse) Reviewed for Scratch the Surface.
9. Woe - Withdrawal (Candlelight) Dave Schalek's review for Last Rites.
8. Noisem - Agony Defined (A389) Reviewed for Metal Bandcamp.
7. Cloud Rat - Moksha (Halo of Flies) Reviewed for Kingdom of Noise.
6. Jucifer - за волгой для нас земли нет (Nomadic Fortress) Reviewed for About Heavy Metal.
5. Batillus - Concrete Sustain (Seventh Rule) Reviewed for About Heavy Metal.
4. VHOL - VHOL (Profound Lore) Reviewed for About Heavy Metal.
3. Subrosa - More Constant Than The Gods (Profound Lore) Reviewed for Hellbound.
2. Anciients - Heart of Oak (Season of Mist) Blurbs written for Scratch the Surface and Metal Bandcamp.
1. Clutch - Earth Rocker (Weathermaker) Blurbs written for Scratch the Surface and Hellbound.

There it is. Now I can take this piece of paper with the list on it out of my pocket for good. It's only been there two months.
17  D

AOTY #1: TITAN - BURN

From the first time I heard BURN from Toronto's Titan I knew it was going to be my Album of the Year. Sometimes when you hear an album the connection is instantaneous. It becomes part of you. That's what happened here. Titan's blend of hardcore, doom, sludge and black metal is the very definition of powerful. Intense performances, interesting lyrics, impeccable musicianship and top notch production combine in sonic glory on BURN. The clear choice of 2012 Album of the Year.

For more thoughts on why.....

Have a look at my (rather extensive) review of BURN here.

I interviewed vocalist James M. and guitarist Chris W. here.

Hypaethral Records

titanslays.com

AOTY #2: Pallbearer - Sorrow & Extinction

No album had the kind of widespread impact on the metal community as Pallbearer's Sorrow & Extinction. Fawned over by critics across the board, S&E found it's way onto just about every end of year list. And it's certainly deserving of the praise. One could even go so far as to call it an instant doom classic. Cleanliness is next to godliness they say, making Pallbearer worthy of worship with clean vocals evoking the deepest of sorrow from the listener. Cleanly picked guitar compliments the deep doom dirges as well with such clarity of vision and execution as to make one wonder how the band could possibly follow up this incredible full length debut. Sorrow & Extinction is a monumentally powerful album sure to stand the test of time and stand as a benchmark for the doom genre as a whole.

(Profound Lore)

Pallbearer Official Site

AOTY #3: Woods of Ypres - Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light

The circustances regarding the release of Woods 5 are most tragic. Mastermind and frontman David Gold was killed in a traffic accident mere weeks before the album's release, leaving the metal community (especially the Canadian one) in shock. Woods 4 could be considered WoY's breakout album and landed them a deal with Earache. Yet just as Gold's songwriting skill was finally getting the recognition it deserved, fate intervened. Such a cruel twist.

What was to become Woods of Ypres's swansong was, in my opinion, the most emotionally charged album released all year regardless of the posthumous situation. GS&EL's heavily gothic tinged black metal is beautifully crafted for maximum emotional impact; its hooks pulling the listener in close. Gold's lyrics centered around mortality and death are quite gripping and thought provoking yet made all the more real (and at times prophetic) by Gold's early departure from this cruel world. I am not ashamed to admit that Woods 5 brought tears to my eyes almost every single time I listened to it. Woods 5 would most definitely sit at the same position on this list were Gold still with us, but his legacy strengthens the album to legendary proportions. One can only hope David has found the peace in death he never found in life.

(Earache)

AOTY #4: Krallice - Years Past Matter

In 2011, Krallice took home top honours of my AOTY list with their album Diotima. Krallice came right back with their self-released Years Past Matter. The new release is no less deserving of the highest honour I can bestow upon an album but the top 3 are also very very deserving. I listened to YPM a couple weeks ago in bed. As captivating as it is in any circumstance, enjoying the album in a completely distraction-free environment is a totally different experience. With undivided attention and relinquished of other stimuli, the myriad textures, shades and intricacies dissolve within each other in perfect solution. A homogeneous mixture of the brilliant musician ship found in the band. Krallice is modern black metal at its very finest.

(Self Released)

Vinyl on Gilead Media

AOTY #5: Bison B.C. - Lovelessness

One of my biggest regrets in life was not going to see Bison BC play a living room show on my 30th birthday. Okay, maybe not but that would have been the best birthday party ever!! Well, the semi-surprise party I had instead was pretty frickin' rad too. Riding an electric Vespa around the streets drunk in the middle of the night? Ya that was cool. Anyway, I wrote about Lovelessness for Hellbound.ca

Behold!!

http://www.hellbound.ca/2012/10/bison-bc-lovelessness/

(Metal Blade)

Bison B.C. on Facebook

AOTY #6: Ash Borer - Cold of Ages

Whenever I listen to Ash Borer there is only one thing I want to do, and that is nothing. I just want to be. And let the sound wash over me, lift me. Raise this crude form beyond the earthly realm. Lift me to a place where all that exists is sound, colour and feeling. Fear, anguish, desperation, anger, melancholy. Beauty, hope, determination. Ash Borer's brilliant use of texture, layers and atmospherics on Cold of Ages is stratospheric. Haunting vocals low in the mix howl like spectres reaching out from beyond the grave.

Ash Borer are reaching for the top of the US Black Metal pile. If they continue to progress at the rate they have been and release material with such quality on a torrid pace (a split, EP and two LPs in less than two years) there's no telling what kind of legend they will bring upon themselves, whether they want it or not.

(Profound Lore)

Ash Borer Official Blog

AOTY #7: High On Fire - De Vermis Mysteriis

It's fucking High On Fire. Theses guys could put out an album of themselves chewing their Corn Flakes and it would be awesome. It's a shame Matt Pike had to go into rehab, preventing the band from properly hitting the road to promote the album but in the long run, it's what is best for all concerned. Especially Pike. De Vermis Mysteriis, a concept album about Jesus's evil twin, is HoF doing what HoF do best. Des Kensel's abusive percussion, Jeff Matz's thick, rumbling bass and Pike's incomparable riffing and gravel-throated holler is a recipe that turns out perfect every time.

(E1)

High On Fire Official Site

AOTY #8: Cattle Decapitation - Monolith of Inhumanity

I really should not have to explain why Cattle Decapitation's Monolith of Inhumanity is worthy of making #8 on this list. Monolith is an incredibly brutal display of top flight musicianship packaged as an absolutely vicious goregrind/death metal epitaph to all that makes this such a fucked up world. Especially people. Not to overshadow the contributions of the other members  but Travis Ryan is one monster of a vocalist. His howls and growls, shrieks and indescribable utterances go from one to the other in the blink of an eye. And it's not studio magic. I've seen him do it. Legendary. Monolith sees Cattle Decap at their most volatile and shocking yet. (Have you seen the video for "Forced Gender Reassignment?) It's kind of ironic for vegetarians but most animals are better than most people.

(Metal Blade)

Cattle Decapitation Official Site

AOTY #9: Bosse-De-Nage - III

This San Francisco group came out of virtually nowhere to captivate me almost beyond words. I tried to put my thoughts about Bosse-De-Nage's III into words for months but every time I listened to it I became overwhelmed by the raw emotion pouring from the album. I kept getting this vision of the band in a coffee house performing with all their heart as the seated assembly merely soaked in the experience like a piece of art. Or a poetry reading. I supposed the fact the lyrics read more like an essay than black metal lyrics aids that visual. I even referred to the sound as Coffee House Black Metal. III is such an emotionally charged album but in a very nontraditional way. I just wish it hadn't taken me this long to discover them.

(Profound Lore)

Bosse-De-Nage Official

AOTY #10: Vilipend - Inamorata

I'm not sure what more I can say about Vilipend's full length debut, Inamorata.

I reviewed the album here. (Probably my best written review of the year.)

I interviewed guitarist Derek Del Vecchio here.

And I wrote the blurb for their inclusion on Hellbound's Top 10 Canadian releases here.

It's fuckin' great.

(A389)

Vilipend.ca

AOTY #11: OM - Advaitic Songs

There's just something about OM that appeals to me on a deep level. Since their debut, Variations on a Theme they've kept me entranced with swirling hypnotic rhythms  that circle back and reappear throughout the album. Their simplistic bass/drum/voice approach resonates on a different level. Advaitic Songs sees Cisternos and Amos bring in even more Eastern flavour to an already highly meditative formula. Even at their loudest and most punishing OM still exudes a sense of calm and reflection. Listening to Advaitic Songs is like riding the whorls of smoke drifting from a stick of incense. It chases away negative energies leaving the listener feeling cleansed, centered and peaceful. I couldn't ask for anything more.

(Drag City Records)

OM Official Site

Interesting story: Back in the early 2000s (2002-2003 specifically) original OM drummer Chris Hakius was in a band called The Sabians with his wife, Rachel Fisher, Patrick Huerta and Justin Marler (ex-Sleep) and I fucking LOVED them. I was in regular contact via email with Huerta and to some degree with the rest of the members as well. I had mentioned the idea of starting a band with just bass and drums. No guitar. Huerta thought it was pretty cool and heavy, ya know. I can't recall if I heard from any of the others about it though. Well, the Sabians didn't make it to 2004 (much to my chagrin) yet in 2005 what should appear? OM, a 2 piece bass/drum/voice with Hakius behind the kit. Did I play a part in the formation of the band? I highly doubt it but it's a pretty fucking cool coincidence!!

AOTY #13: Black Sheep Wall - No Matter Where It Ends

Few albums released in 2012 were as sonically crushing as Black Sheep Wall's No Matter Where It Ends. Downright filthy tone and vocalist Trae Malone's earth shaking roar define the meaning of heavy. But to get a deeper understanding of the album, you can read the review I wrote earlier last year.

http://kingdomofnoise.blogspot.ca/2012/05/black-sheep-wall-no-matter-where-it.html

(Season of Mist)

BSW on Facebook

AOTY #12: Paroxsihzem - Paroxsihzem

Paroxsihzem's self-titled debut tops the list of Grade "A" releases from Dark Descent in 2012. This heavily blackened death metal beauty is caked in all the grime and filth one could scrape from the underbelly of their home in The Big Smoke. The album is viciously misanthropic and cavernously produced, as if recorded in the den of some foul beast buried untold layers beneath the city. A number of samples compliment the subterranean vocalisations as bleak riffs circle like flies around a rotting carcass, yet not without a sense of groove and militant forcefulness. Paroxsihzem is disgustingly dark and densely atmospheric without resorting to varied instrumentation. The album is intense and visceral, dragging the listener to a shallow grave with lo-fi, no-frills putridity. Paroxsihzem is a frighteningly impressive and oppressive debut which will be difficult to top. However, I have a feeling we've only heard the crust topping the depths of malevolence Paroxsihzem have to offer. 

(Dark Descent)

Paroxsihzem on Facebook

AOTY #15: Pilgrim - Misery Wizard

I don't expect to take any heat for putting Pilgrim's Misery Wizard so high on my list but, I don't recall seeing it on any other lists. But that's okay. It's my own little gem. A little gem that holds down the #2 Most Played position for 2012. The album moves as fast as an amputee in 3 feet of snow which makes it feel as heavy as a lead tunic. The clean vocals beg to be sung at absurd levels with arms stretched wide, palms turned upward in praise. The album's six tracks crawl by in a sub-Sabbathian manner over the course of nearly an hour. However, "The Adventurer" provides a boost of energy before the monumental closer "Forsaken Man". Monolithic riffs, mountains of feedback (feedback makes me giddy), and powerful sing-along vocals adorn this massive slab of soaring doom. Slow and hypnotic, it entranced this listener over and over, ad infinitum.

(Metal Blade)

Pilgrim on Facebook

AOTY #16: Municipal Waste - The Fatal Feast

Everyone's favourite party thrashers Municipal Waste brought the fun to 2012 with The Fatal Feast. A (loose) concept album about a space mission gone cannibalistically wrong? Fuck yeah bro! Sign me up! The energy and intensity level of this album is through the roof. One of the albums I played the most this year, it was perfect for any mood or occasion. Feeling down? MuniWaste will turn that frown upside down! Bored? Problem solved! Listen to The Fatal Feast! Feelin' good? Crack a beer and spin this shit! It's fuckin' party time! The Fatal Feast will help you cut the grass in half the time! Give you the extra energy to split wood with ease! Entertain the kids by moshing around the living room! Put it on while enjoying a nice plate of spaghetti and...well maybe not while eating. Anyway, my point is, this album is (pay)loads of fun without being stupid and still being technically and vocally fantastic.

(Nuclear Blast)

www.facethewaste.com

AOTY #17: Mutilation Rites - Empyrean

Yet another debut full length makes the list in the form of Empyrean from Mutilation Rites. This is one seriously vicious album of depraved American black metal. Yeah, it's depraved. It's American. And it sounds like it was made by depraved Americans. The album is relentless. Blistering speed is paramount yet the band can pull back when need be. But even at the tempered speeds, Empyrean is still punishing. Maniacal screeching vocals, filthy tone and killer riffs, and sickening drum work bring Mutilation Rites to the forefront of the blackened metal scene on this side of the pond. It's disgusting, it's grimy, it's sinister in every way and it gets better every time I hear it.

 (Prosthetic Records)

(But I also recommend the vinyl from Gilead Media)

Mutilation Rites on Facebook

AOTY #18: Amenra - Mass V

Amenra's Mass V is a dark and atmospheric piece of music. The haunting vocals will rip your heart out of your chest. To really understand how I feel about this deeply emotional album, you should read the review I wrote for Ghost Cult Magazine.

www.ghostcultmag.com/2012/12/amenra-mass-v.html

(Neurot)

www.churchofra.com

AOTY #19: Ufomammut - ORO: Opus Primum and Opus Alter

 2012 saw not one, but two releases from Italy's psychedelic doomsters Ufomammut. Opus Primum and Opus Alter make up ORO, a sprawling two part concept album exploring the alchemical process of making gold from baser metals. The massive soundscapes and psychedelics touches make the world seen alien.  I suppose the world would seen that way as ORO takes you deep down to the molecular level. Your sense of perspective gets skewed as Ufomammut transport you beyond this realm of perception. I don't use the word transcendental very much but I will here. Many times I completely lost myself amidst the layered vocals, the drone, the repetition, and the crushing low frequency walls of sound. The scale of vision that Ufomammut has in putting together this awe inspiring package is unfathomable to my feeble mind. I've been a fan since their debut (Godlike Snake) and I feel ORO may be their best yet.

I had to retire my beloved Ufomammut shirt recently as well. I put my finger right through it putting it on. Sad day indeed.

(Neurot Recordings)

Ufomammut Official Site

AOTY #20: Royal Thunder - CVI

Like Horisont, this was another one of those releases in which I had heard some trusted sources raving about it and gave it a shot. I heard the stream of "Whispering World" and fell in love. Not to take away from the rest of the band but bassist/vocalist Mlny Parsonz is the real star here. She has such an incredibly powerful and dynamic voice. It can be soft and sweet, or raspy and edgy. I could definitely see her becoming a role model for a new generation of young girls who want to rock hard (My girls like Royal Thunder anyway. And Witch Mountain. Uta Plotkin has some stellar pipes too.). Royal Thunder isn't just about that voice though. CVI is loaded with instantly memorable songs with massive hooks, southern groove and a whole lotta soul. Royal Thunder have something special going on here. Let's hope they get even better. Man, I really should have gone out to see them when they rolled through Ontario with CoC.

(Relapse)

Royal Thunder on Facebook