2006 Re-revisited

Before I started this blog in 2008, I would send my "Best of 20XX" lists around to my friends via email. Back in 2015, I posted my list from 2006. For that, I just cut and paste the email right into the post. Bad spelling, worse punctuation and grammar. I'm leaving the ugly in. This time I went and listened to almost the albums to reassess my feelings almost 20 years on. Comments with better spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Results below.

1. Mastodon - Blood Mountain (2006 - no comment)
2025 - I wouldn't put it at the very top but it's probably still my favourite Mastodon album.

2. I Hate Sally - Don't Worry Lady (Very close second, great mix of styles, great live, and awesome people)
Of all these albums I listen to this one the most. By a wide margin. Considering this is a favourites list, move it to the top.

3 . Lamb Of God - Sacrament (I got the invitation, and I am going!)
There are some good tunes on here. But it would be nowhere near this high now. They just feel too one-dimensional to me. Randy is a fascinating guy though.

4. Kalas - Kalas (Matt Pike! incredible first, last and only album. R.I.P. Kalas)
Incredible seems like a stretch. I still dig it. I had largely forgotten what it sounded like by 2010. With Spotify I do go back to it often enough but I don't own a physical copy.

5 . Slayer - Christ Illusion (They still got it! and Lombardo is back!)
Yeah, still a pretty good Slayer album. Better than the two that came after. But not one I go back to.

6 . Accept Death - Accept Death (Death Accepted. Cool samples, great doomy feel, scary vokills)
Jesus H Christ. I had totally forgotten about this album until I heard it again. Pure fucking evil sludge filth. It's not streaming so I have to hunt down a physical. It's on youtube though. Save and download.

7 . Deicide - The Stench of Redemption (I am SO glad Benton didn't kill himself at 33)
This might be the last Deicide ablum I was really that in to. I know I've heard later ones but wasn't "in to" them. This one has some serious shred going on.

8. The Abominal Iron Sloth - s/t (uh, it's real good)
I had kinda forgotten about this one too. I won't fucking do that again! Heavy fucking shit motherfuckers!!

9. Kylesa - Time Will Fuse It's Worth (Two drummers, two vocalists, too good)
This is the album that hooked me on Kylesa. Still good! Shame on me for not owning this either. And for never publishing the interview I did with them a couple years later.

10 . Kataklysm - In the Arms of Devastation
Definitely not in the top 10. I dig Kataklysm. I don't listen to much death metal anymore but I went and saw these guys play last year. As good as this is it woulnd't make top 10 again.

11 . Jucifer - If Thine Enemy Hunger (not metal, not conventional, like Veruca Salt on LOTS of drugs) It was kinda weird listening to this knowing the kind of stuff they did after this. Still a great album. More "metal" moments than I may have indicated.

12 . Om - Conference of the Birds (two ex-members of Sleep crafting epic doom masterpieces)
Move this baby way up! Probably listen to this the most of anything else on this list. LOVE.

13 . The Sword - Age of Winters
Considering what's above this, move it up. Still lovin' it!

14 . Witch - s/t (This stuff makes you high just listening to it!)
While we are at it, move this up too. I like it more than their follow-up.

15. Napalm Death - Smear Campaign (grind at it's best)
Oh, my Napalm era. I barely made it through listening to this again. I said better things about albums after this but I wouldn't care if I never heard them again.

16 . Sepultura - Dante XXI (who needs Cavaleras? I know Iggor played on this one)
Still alright I guess. They've done better without Max, they've done worse.

17 . Bury Your Dead - Beauty and the Breakdown (If you're gonna be metalcore, at least be good at it)
Is this really metalcore? I dunno. It's not bad. And it's honest. So many breakdowns. I had a hankering for this album (in 2025!) and it inspired this whole exercise.

18. Sworn Enemy - The Beginning of the End (token hardcore album)
Token? You could argue other albums on this list are also hardcore. This didn't launch me back into a hardcore phase or anything.

19. Lair of the Minotaur - The Ultimate Destroyer
One of those bands nobody talks about but that put out some cool stuff. Fun at least.

20. Black Cobra - Bestial (great tone, sounds like a giant tank plowing across the landscape blowing up everything in sight)
Move it up! I come back to this often. My 2006 comment holds up. I fucking love duos.

21. Hatebreed - Supremacy (formula starting to get old, just enough difference to make the list)
2006 comment holds up again. I don't listen to any of their stuff after this.

22. Saviours - Crucifire (another great "stoner" album)
Forgot about this one! Move it up! I need a physical of this.

23. Norma Jean - Redeemer (who knew christians could rock so well?)
Still a pretty cool, energetic album. Don't ask me about the lyrics though.

24. Scissorfight - Jaggernaut (if you like Clutch, you'll like these guys)
If you like Clutch interbred with Appalachian mountain trolls. So much damn fun. Move it way up.

25. Fucked Up - Hidden World (if this is fucked up, I don't want normal)
Nah, bro. I wasn't feeling it. 2006 comment invalid.

26. Dry Kill Logic - Of Vengeance and Violence (Cliff Rigano rules)
I still dug it. "Rules" may be an exaggeration. They put out a new single in May. I should check it out.



Top 5 "Really fun to listen to but not necessarily great albums"

1. Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage (2025 - I listened to it all. That was more than enough.)
2. Funerot - Invasion from the Death Dimension (Tyrannosaur could be my fave song of the year) (2025 - That was fun! I feel bad I had forgotten about it!)
3. Cross Examination - Hung Jury (2025 - 'The Hung Jury' is the correct title. Also, fuck me for forgetting this! Super fun crossover! Fuck yeah!)
4. Venom - Metal Black (2025 - I didn't bother.)
5. Motorhead - Kiss of Death (2025 - I tried to listen to it. Shoot me. I don't like Motörhead. I don't know why I put this one here. I don't like Venom either.)

Surprise of the Year:

I Hate Sally - Don't Worry Lady (who knew I'd love a local band this much, and the fact that Mike Kopko hated it)

Disappointment(s) of the Year (other than no new Clutch):

Tool - 10,000 days (2025 - Most forgettable Tool album.)
Five Horse Johnson - Mystery Spot (JP from Clutch drumming, thought it would be better) (2025 - Same. Couple cool tunes.)
The false start (demise?) of Black Veil Choir (Justin Marler from Sleep)(2025 - I can't even find info about this failed project.)

Stuff I Thought I'd Like But Wasn't Really Feelin':

Trivium - Crusaders (bad lyrics) (2025 - I concur. It's 'The Crusades' though.)
Protest the Hero - Kezia (hate the vocals) (2025 - I concur.)
Isis - In the Absence of Truth (2025 - I actually listened to this three times. Better than I gave it credit for at the time.)

Compilation of the Year :

Sucking the 70's 2: Back in the Saddle Again (2025 - I didn't look for it. I will say it probably still is the best comp of that year.)

Collaboration of the Year :

Rebel Meets Rebel (2025 - I didn't bother.)

Top EPs of the Year:

Jesu - Silver (2025 - It was fine? Not something I'll go back to.)
Arise and Ruin - The Fear of... (Unavailable. I probably couldn't find the mp3s around if I tried. A burned disc or a hard drive somewhere but whatever. I have both their albums.

Fayne - The Queen of Kings

I'm not going to spend a lot of time on The Queen of Kings by Montreal's Fayne. Mostly because this sort of music is targeted at a young audience and at 36 I feel anything but young. But also because regardless of age, there isn't much that's interesting about it.

Metalcore/deathcore is a tired genre whether the genre's backers want to admit it or not. And Fayne pretty much regurgitate the same recipe as a million other bands. Whiney emo vocals, like Alien Ant Farm covering Michael Jackson's “Smooth Criminal”, or a third-rate Chino Moreno, trade off with your typical death grunts.

(I kid you not, mere seconds after writing that Alien Ant Farm bit, a guy walked in on me and when I shut it off for him to use the phone he says “Oh I know that one! Smooth Criminal! Alien Ant Farm!” To which I replied “You'd think so. But no.”)

Breakdowns a plenty and that djenty lack of flow comprise the bulk of their sound, with a fair share of guitar acrobatics and emotive solos. Some of those breakdowns are worthy of breaking a chair over someone's face (in a good way) but it's nothing countless others can conjure up.

Stuff like this sells whether I like it or not. I suppose it does have a market (a buddy of mine likes it) among the melody deprived karate dancers. And for what it's worth it sounds good. But despite production values that make The Queen of Kings sound as clean as a waxed asshole, it doesn't change the fact that what's coming out is shit. And it doesn't smell like roses either.

Released November 20, 2014

The Queen of Kings on Bandcamp

Fayne on Facebook

Can-Con Double Feature: The BODY POLITIC - Egressor and WHERE GIANTS ONCE STOOD - Live Above

I try and support Canadian metal, I really do. But sometimes I get promo CDs that I have a hard time promoting. Like Egressor, the new EP from Nanaimo's The Body Politic. And even then it comes down to taste. The Body Politic can be categorized generally as mainstream metal. A young band for young fans. I'm old.

There are a lot of progressive elements weaving their way through the emo-core these lads are co-ordinating. Djent and staccato rhythms hammer away as synth/key melodies meander below the current and soaring vocals trade off with aggressive screams.

At times TBP sound like they are tripping over themselves in an effort to make the songs as jagged as possible. Also, in the attempt to diversify they shoehorn parts in where they aren't necessary and it can ruin any flow the song has going.

There's no doubt their live show is a co-ordinated attack with the long-banged masses losing their shit over the emotive outpouring juxtaposed against the back-breaking poly-metrics. For those raised on Sumerian-core, Protest the Hero or anyone who thinks that Meshuggahswitch Engage would be the sickest shit ever will find that Egressor scratches that itch between the shoulder blades. But if you had pimples when say, Metallica released ...And Justice for All, you might want to run the other way.

http://thebodypolitic.bandcamp.com/track/armature-single 

On your way out of there you may come across the place Where Giants Once Stood. This Toronto group bears a lot of similarities to TBP but take things in a more metalcore direction. There are still staccato rhythms but they incorporate more groove and defined breakdowns on their EP Live Above. Less emo, more aggro. Vocally the death growls and snarls pull down the clean vocals making it all less whiny sounding than it could be. The technicality is less in your face but still tight. Many karate moves will be flashed around the pit at a WGOS show, I can guarantee you that. I could have seen such a sight for myself a couple weeks ago but I was out of town.

I can hear a similarity to Linkin Park here and there but without the electronic elements and again, less whiny. Actually, the growls and snarling screeches aren't all that bad. “Living In Security” (nifty little play on words) has some nice guitar work, both within the riffs and the solos but follows with the syncopated nature of the album.

Less progressive and more -core than their Nanaimo counterparts, WGOS may appeal to a larger subset of metal's younger demographic. Still not my cup of tea but I could see this doing well on satellite radio or that Vevo metal channel. Plus, I know a guy who is going to love both. Kids these days....

https://soundcloud.com/where-giants-once-stood 

Until Dawn - Horizon

I don't know much about Fort McMurray, AB but I know that's where Until Dawn are from and that there isn't much other that going on there. I mean, my stepdad considered a job out there and my mom said she wouldn't go with him because it was too boring. And she's the biggest homebody I know. (Love ya, Ma!) But without big city distractions these guys had plenty of time to hone their chops for debut album Horizon.

These lads can play. Riffs abound and dexterity is there in spades, but the issue at hand is stylistic. Until Dawn dig deep beneath the mines already picked clean by metalcore/melodic metal heavyweights like Killswitch Engage and Soilwork. I might even hear some Darkest Hour and The Haunted in there too. Given the base they're working from you can bet Horizon is packed with riffs that will get buried deep in your skull even if they aren't the most original. Some parts seem directly lifted from KsE. However, Until Dawn don't follow that good cop/bad cop vocal style to the same extent as KsE. There is varying degrees of intensity but even the cleaner side has some grit.

By and large most of the tracks on Horizon are virtually interchangable. Which makes the fact there are 13 (including bonus tracks) seem a bit of overkill. Spicing things up a bit is “This Fallen Fortress” which starts almost Panterish before devolving into stock metalcore. “DNR” stands in as the ballad. “The Trial” has a bit of a different energy and feels a little nu-metallic. But as stated, Horizon is basically a well-executed and produced melodic metal album.

No doubt there's a wide porton of metal fans who will eat this right up and know every word and sing along with just as much conviction to those big hooky choruses. These same fans will do their best to break their own necks to the syncopated rhythms slicing up the melodies.

But when you break it right down, Until Dawn aren't breaking any new ground and will be hard pressed to draw in listeners that aren't already diehard fans of this niche genre. I have to give them credit for sticking to what they want to play, and doing it well for what it is. And at least they've got something to do.

Until Dawn bandcamp