Teeth of the Divine’s STAFF PICKS for 2011
Well, another year. Another late year rush to get staff picks together, which is a lot like herding cats. Another year of rotating staff members. Another year of departed metal icons. But despite of all that, another year of seemingly endless awesome metal. Its seems like each year is always better than the last with a mix of old acts returning, newcomers bringing the thunder and of course the perennials and old reliables. Sit back and feast your eyes on this years cream of the crop according to the staff here at Teethofthedivine.com. And of course feel free discuss, dissect and discredit, but more importantly tell us your picks, good and bad of 2011.
ERIK THOMAS
1. Fleshgod Apocalypse – Agony.
2. Entrails – The Tomb Awaits.
3. Kverlertak – s/t
4. Light Bearer – Lapsus
5. Vildhjarta – Masstaden
6. Wolves In The Throne Room – Celestial Lineage
7. Ulcerate- The Destroyers of All
8. Disma– Towards the Megalith
9. Life in Your Way – Kingdoms
10. Obscura – Omnivium
11. Deafheaven – Roads to Judah
12. Insomnium – One for Sorrow.
13. Origin – Entity
14. Loss– Despond
15. Mitochondrion – Parasignosis
16. Anomalous – Ohmnivalent
17. Hull – Beyond the Lightless Sky
18. Obsequiae – Suspended in the Brume of Eos
19. Primordial –Redemption at the Puritan’s Hand
20. Mournful Congregation – The Book of Kings
21. All Pigs Must Die – God is War
22. Alestorm – Back Through Time.
23. The Living Fields – Running Out of Daylight
24. Morne– Asylum
25. Sleeping Giant – Kingdom Days in an Evil Age
Albums that I heard in 2011, that would have been sure fire for 2010: Journal – Unlorja, Rhino – Weight of Coronation
Sorry guys, you got bumped by a ridiculously good late year flurry of releases and discoveries: Anaal Nathrakh– Passion, Fen – Epoch, Ana Kefr – (II) The Burial Tree, Dekadent – Venera : Trial & Tribulation.
Sorry guys, I Didn’t Get the Hype: 40 Watt Sun – The Inside Room, Absu –Abzu, Vektor – Outer Isolation, Revocation – Chaos of Forms.
Sorry guys, I didn’t have enough time to get to know you properly, but I’m pretty sure you were awesome: Unexpect – Fables of the Lost Empire, Tombs –The Path of Totality , Vale of Pnath – The Prodigal Empire , Killing the Dream – Lucky Me, Flourishing – The Sum of All Fossils, Saille– Irreversible Decay.
Album I had to find a spot for and at least mention somewhere: Ever Forthright – S/T.
Best Vinyl release: Dead in the Dirt – Fear 7″
Best Re-issues: Augury – Concealed, Uncanny – MCMXCI-MCMXCIV
Best Self Released CD (and best fucking cover art)– Vore – Gravehammer
Best Demo – Hessian Crucible – Morbidity
Best comeback: Autopsy – Macabre Eternal
Best EP- Corpsessed – The Dagger & The Chalice
Biggest surprise: Jungle Rot – Kill On Command
Best labels: Dark Descent/ Southern Lord/Profound Lore
Worst albums: Morbid Angel – Illud Divunum Insanus, Denial Fiend– Horror Holocaust.
Best album everyone hated because of the artist, not the actual music: – Liturgy – Aesthetica
Best Songs: Fleshgod Apocalypse “The Betrayal” and “The Violation”, Light Bearer “Primen Movens”, Augury “Lair of Purity”, Alestorm ” I am a Cider Drinker”, Hessian Crucible “Shame Spiral”, Ulcerate “Cold Becoming”, Kverlertak “Utrid Die Svake”, Subrosa “House Carpenter”, Turisas “Hunting Pirates” and “Venetoi! Presino!” , The Living Fields “Glacial Movements” and “Perseverance”, Woods of Ypres “By the Time You Read This” and “I Was Buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery”, Liturgy “Tragic Laurel” and “Returner”, All Pigs Must Die “Death Dealer”, Dekadent “Day of Solace”, Illdisposed “The Taste of You”, August Burns Red “Carpe Diem”, Century “Painting Leprosy”, Vrani Vlossa “Rising Red”, Anaal Nathrakh “Drug Fucking Abomination”, Deafheaven “Tunnel of Trees”, Morne “Volition”, Rose Funeral “Malignant Amour”, Primordial “Mouth of Judas”, Ulcerate “Cold Becoming”, Hull “Earth From Water”, Lock Up “Stigmartyr”, Svartsot “Farsoten Kom”,Hands “Northern Lights”, Monsterworks “Everything You Believe is a Lie”, Thousand Year War ‘Spartacus”, Taake “Myr”, Loss – “Cut Up Depressed and Alone”, Skyrim Theme.
Find more articles with: 2011, Blog, Staff Picks
Apparently there are quite a bit of new staff that I have never heard of. Any of you folks posting in the forum?
on Jan 2nd, 2012 at 13:03Chuck = globox
on Jan 2nd, 2012 at 13:50Fuckin A Jodi! Vintersorg rules
on Jan 2nd, 2012 at 16:09Surprised 40 Watt Sun left so many folks cold. Just picked it up last week & am digging it.
on Jan 2nd, 2012 at 18:3240 watt sun does nothing for me and I am the doom guy. It’s drawn out and whinny to me.
on Jan 2nd, 2012 at 19:12My list: http://abismo666blogzine.blogspot.com/2011/12/lo-mejor-del-2011-sebas.html
on Jan 2nd, 2012 at 20:17(Nº1: 40 Watt Sun)
I can always count on Grim to deliver a list that has little to no overlap with anyone else’s… which is a good thing ’cause otherwise I’d have never heard of gems like Slartibartfass. Weird name, great black metal.
on Jan 3rd, 2012 at 23:31another overlooked 2011 gem: Witheria – thanks Larry! you are 2 for 2 for me this year
on Jan 4th, 2012 at 00:03It’s CRIMINAL you left off Novembers Doom. Aphotic was better then most this year, and not even an honorable mention?
on Jan 10th, 2012 at 00:17I was lucky enough to see 40 Watt Sun in Chicago this last fall and considering I met up with a bunch of the MetalReview staff it was a great time. Superb show.
With that said, I can totally see why many out there aren’t into the album much. It is a tad whiny in spots, and the songs do appear to go nowhere on the surface but for me there’s quite a bit of depth in that fuckin’ record. I personally dig it quite a bit and it cracked my top 5… shit just resonates very, very well with me. I hate to use the ol’ cliche, but I truly feel it’s one of those albums where you’re gonna absolutely fucking hate it, or as has been the case with just about every fan of it out there I’ve run across you hold it in very high regard. Seems there’s no in between on this one.
Lastly, nice lookin’ list, Erik. There are a lot of albums on there I haven’t heard yet and will likely investigate more than a few of them. Also, gonna miss your work over at MR big time, but I look forward to continuing to follow you on Teeth. Cheers!!!
on Jan 12th, 2012 at 16:26