 Logan |
2010 is getting off to one hell of a start. January was pure insanity. Here are the ones to look for (IMO): Ihsahn – After
Ihsahn is avant garde black metal at it’s finest and this is way beyond anything I have heard from Vegard before. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first album, but the second was pretty good. I have been a fan of Peccatum (another project of his) for a while and this is far better than any of it.
Kenos – X-Torsion
Varg – Blutaar
Be sure to check them out.
Bifröst - Heidenmetal
Again, this band will be an instant favorite to anyone who likes Hammer Horde, Windir, or anything that is intense, folky, and filled with melodic guitar lines.
Wolfsmond – III
The riffing is solid and there are some good guitar lines and some fast picking here and there. The singing is very standard for this style of black metal and there isn’t really anything that sets this apart from the crowd other than the fact that the production is a lot better and there are some great riffs. The music slows down to “rock and roll” tempo here and there. This is a refreshing dynamic. just when you think the energy is gone, it kicks back up again!  It’s definitely worth checking out.
Thrudvangar – Thodhild’s Gunst
I really likes the atmosphere on this album. At times it reminded me of my favorite from 2008 (Draugnim). It’s thick and epic while still having a dark ambiance.
Arkaik – Paradigm
Fans of Monstrosity, Braindrill, Trauma, and even The Faceless should grab this instantly.
Mutiny Within – Mutiny Within
The thing that really draws me to this album is the guitar work. The riffing is amazing and the solos are not just technical. They are also great melodies. I get really tired of work that is technical just for the sake of showing off. Who cares how good it is if it sounds like mud. I know there aren’t many on here that like regular heavy metal, but the riffing is so good that this is worth a look.
Other 2010 releases not to miss:
I had to leave a lot of stuff out! There is so much going on this year. I predict that this will be one of the best years for metal. Let me know what your favorite albums are so far this year.
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Logan |
Mother of God. This album is amazing. Vegard Sverre Tveitan keeps getting better. Now he is on an eight string guitar and the music is just madness.
Kenos plays progressive death metal with some melodic and black elements. Their newest CD is probably their best to date. This album is dramatic, has tons of variety, the guitars are thick and crisp, and the vocals are amazing (there are growls, shrieks, and clean vocals). Just get it now.
Varg means “wolf” in Swedish and Norwegian… Their sound is somewhere between black metal, viking metal, epic metal, and folk metal. Any fan of Thyrfing, Windir, Vreid, or Hammer Horde will love these guys. Â I sometimes even hear a little old school Amon Amarth style.
Bifröst is going to be on the top of my list for a while. The music is epic. This album is all about the melody. They are actually classified as melodic black or melodic death metal. To me they bring to mind viking metal and epic metal.
Wolfsmond is straight-up raw black metal. Their production is much better than most of the raw black metal out there. There is actually some bass in the mix.
Thrudvangar plays Viking Black Metal. There is a heavy emphasis on the melody here. They do mix in a lot of keyboards, more than I usually like. But the melodies are good enough that I forget about the keyboards after a few minutes.
Finally, some death metal on the list. Arkaik is brutal, technical death metal! I do get into death metal so long as it is technical, and this stuff is insane.
Here’s one for the heavy metal fans. This is melodic heavy metal at it’s finest. It’s like a less thick version of Mercenary with more insane solos. Also great for fans of Machine Men. Help me out if you know any other similar bands.
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