Things you might have missed.
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I'll be honest, I only checked out Dumblegore because of the band name, among the best of 2017. It turns out, though, that they totally rule, though they don't sing about Harry Potter.
Dumblegore play "Spooky Metal" the stuff drenched in B-movie horror tropes, but their spin on it is unique. They marry fuzzed out stoner doom, spooky organ, and a kind of "laid-back Mantar" vocal approach with punk rock attitude (and often song structure). It's a little bit black metal, a little bit stoner rock, a little bit punk and a whole lot of fun. The master is decent too, a respectable DR 8.
Come for the silly name stay 'cause they rock.
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Vaivatar are Finnish. That seems to be the only information available about the band which is always a great sign!
They play a strange mix of symphonic but raw black metal. It's extremely busy, but extremely melodic with very inorganic sounding synths. It gives them a sound like Havukruunu meets Master Boot Record by way of Castlevania. The guitar distortion and the synths are eerily similar so it can be hard to tell which is which adding another outré layer to the music
It's epic, but mysterious, dense but soaring, and Pay What You want, also a nice master at DR 8.
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| Cover art by Bring. |
I LOVE Angel Sword but feel like I'm mostly alone in my love of their mix of Motorhead vocals and sloppy Iron Maiden instrumentals, but I don't care. They rule! Their 2016 release Rebels Beyond the Pale is still in heavy rotation for me, and though this is only an EP more Angel Sword is more Angel Sword.
I initially checked them out because of their so bad it's amazing album covers, and wrote them off as inept traditional metal due to some odd chord structures and vocals but I was missing out. Underneath the intentional roughness of their presentation are fantastic songs. They keep it classic; nothing is lighting speed, lots of the songs are in major keys, and many are even about heavy metal. But it's all so well done, just sloppy enough to seem totally genuine but get across the wicked riffs, choruses, and gang vocals.
Things I missed, but apparently no one else did.
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| Cover art by Paolo Girardi. |
2013's Manifest Decimation didn't click with me so I glossed over Nightmare Logic until it was all over year end lists, metal and otherwise. Boy, was I missing out. Power Trip play reverb drenched throwback thrash with pop sensibilities. Every riff and every chorus is so catchy. It's one of 2017's most fun and most relevant releases. While a lot of metal concerns itself with how everything is terrible, Power Trip implore us to get out and do something about it. Thankfully since the album's release many have!
Unfortunately the album's production, reverb drenched though it is, isn't a total throwback. It's mastered incredibly loudly and clips almost as hard as it rips. Musically, though, it's a total win.
Track o' the Year
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Not metal, but The Deep is the best single track of the year. Commissioned for the podcast This American Life, it's an homage to Detroit electronic artist Drexciya, extending their mythos wherein the children of pregnant African women thrown overboard from slave ships were born and adapted to life underwater.
It's a microcosm of what made Splendor & Misery so compelling; fascinating concept, exquisite execution, and great production. The production matches the watery theme with beats and accents that sound "bubbly"
In The Deep the water-dwellers go from peaceful existence to climate change worry to full-on war with the "two-legs" from the surface. The track is divided into movements as the situation escalates. It starts of slow and laid back but each revelation towards confrontation and eradication of the two-legs increases the pace of the music and lyrics and adds more layers to the beat.
Though I love Splendor & Misery, it was criticized by some for its lack of immediacy, essentially required a full listen through to properly experience it. The Deep is the answer to that. Five minutes for one of the best, and most immediate "concept albums" of 2017
