duncang

The Rotted – Get Dead Or Die Trying


This year produced two utterly refreshing death metal albums; this is one of them, and the other will be mentioned next. Gorerotted were a grind/DM band of a good standard, but the emphasis was always on 'standard'. This year, though, they changed their name to 'The Rotted' to reflect the new sound to be heard on this beast. Yes, this album is still very aggressive death metal, however it's so much more textured and well-executed than before. Thankfully they've retained their wonderful song titles ('Angel Of Meth', 'It's Like There's A Party In My Mouth (And Everyone's Being Sick)'), and while most other things have been changed they're all for the better. We can only hope the slowly building UKDM scene will be inspired by this, sparked to do something a little different.

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The Monolith Deathcult - Trivmvirate


It's been months since I first heard it, but to this day I still shit my pants when that choir kicks in on 'Deus Ex Machina'. This album is a masterclass in how to be unbelievably brutal, but not suck. It's unique in that it is, I swear, the only extreme metal album to use 'symphonic elements' and all that other bullshit to very much enhance the music. The bass sound is the unsung hero, providing a seriously thick foundation for the equally well-dialled guitars to mould on. The drummer seems to be more precise than a metronome and the vocals wrap it up as one coherent and very, very brutal package. These guys are a class act and you'd be very silly not to listen to them, even if you are only reading this article for the mention of Fall Out Boy.

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Metallica – Death Magnetic


Over the last 4 months you've all been overloaded with opinions on this (I know I have, I have to read all your damn comments about it!) so I will keep my own to the point. Death Magnetic is good. It has some fantastic songs that are called That Was Just Your Life, The Judas Kiss and The Unforgiven III. It has some good songs that are called Broken Beat And Scarred, All Nightmare Long and Cyanide. It has some average songs that are called The Day That Never Comes, My Apocalypse and The End Of The Line. It also has Suicide & Redemption, which is not a good song. St. Anger, like totally sucked and I wish they'd return to the sound they had when they were good. Fuck Dave Mustaine.

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Marionette - Spite

I got very lucky when I received this promo in the mail from Listenable Records; I had heard the song 'Legion' but a few days earlier, and was very much interested in acquiring the album. It's ferocious yet well thought-out, probably the sort of album you should listen to when you're pissed off as it provides both musical methods of dealing with anger: it's vicious and fast to connect with your mood, but by the end of it you are very much in a better place as something about the melodies is so...reflective that you get beyond whatever the problem may be in the short term and think about the big picture. That's my bloated and pretentious way of saying 'it kicks your fucking ass', by the way.

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Agrypnie - Exit

Agrypnie made the best black metal album of 2006 with 'F51.4' and they returned to make the best black metal album of 2008. They had some tough competition in 2006 from Keep Of Kalessin and Secrets Of The Moon, and this year they arguably had even more with Lifelover, Taake, Krallice and Ofermod (note: not Keep Of Kalessin) releasing fantastic albums as well. But really, the beauty of 'Exit' is more than the vast majority of black metal bands would even dare to handle. It's not every day that you find a black metal band as emotive as Agrypnie, a black metal band who display such warmth before utterly destroying it with true coldness.

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The Computers - You Can't Hide From The Computers

An 18-minute burst of blues-punk madness from Exeter's very own maniacs. Rather than being dominated by any one member, it is the chemistry between all of the instruments that give this EP the essential drive which makes it so much fun. Bluesy solos/progressions, harmonics and what an oh-so-typical 'classic' sound. High tempos, fierce screams and a perfect hardcore mixdown are just three of the many awesome things to be found in this short but sweet debut.

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Kanye West – 808s And Heartbreak

This one sure is interesting. Kanye West is one of the biggest rappers in the world, most well known  for spitting a load of egotistical nonsense but being loved for it just because of how talented he is. So when he puts out an album where an auto-tune sings about getting dumped...it's interesting. I think nearly every fan's reaction to this was 'This sucks!', but once you get your head round how much of a departure it is this album can reward you. It's not hip-hop, not at all. It's a pop album, but a very thick, introspective one. Interestingly enough, a parallel between this and 'Traced In Air' can be made; both feature heavily processed, yet highly emotional vocals. I mean sure, Paul Masvidal can actually sing, but it would be a bit strange to hear Kanye deliver lonely lyrics in his normal rapping style. It is still beyond me as to how 'Love Lockdown' managed to be such a successful song, but I think I will keep on understanding this album better as 2009 gets going.

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Common – Universal Mind Control

Unlike '808s And Heartbreak', I am not expecting this one to grow on me. Common is quite easily the best rapper I've ever heard, however last year's 'Finding Forever' came as a minor disappointment, with several tracks ruined by Mr. West himself. Unfortunately this new album has not only continued involvement from Kanye, but also a majority of the tracks produced by The Neptunes, and it does not work. This is just an irritatingly poor album, with pathetically self-centred lyrics and beats that vary from mind-numbingly dull to a most blatant type of annoying. A little more 'Changes', a little less 'Sex 4 Suga', please. That said, more of the absolute genius that was smeared over 'Be' or 'Resurrection' would be appreciated.

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Bloodbath - The Fathomless Mastery

OMFG! Mikael Akerfeldt! He's my god, and he's on this so his vocals will totally cover up any boring riffs, flaccid production or shitty songs!

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Mogwai – The Hawk Is Howling

'The Hawk Is Howling' manages what no Mogwai album has done before. It's made sure every song is absolutely as good as it could be, it's just the right length and it's just generally the best album they've made. It's one of those sublime albums where you can sit back and relax or you can really focus on what's happening and both ways of listening are equally enjoyable It's also one of those albums where, when summing them up for this blog, I end up paraphrasing my official review, so go and find that if you like. If not just remember that the only reason this isn't the best post-rock album of 2008 by a gigantic margin is one other extra-special contender who will be revealed at the end of this blog.

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Omnium Gatherum – The Redshift

I am so, so glad that this album was good. Their last was pretty duff, but Omnium Gatherum really kicked back into fifth gear with 'The Redshift'. The riffs and leads are gorgeous, Jukka Pelkonen's vocals really gel and Omnium Gatherum really sound so much more like a band that have full confidence in their material; more so than they ever have, including the classic 'Spirits And August Light'. Despite the fairly sombre 'Greeneyes' and 'Song For December', this is the 'feel-good' album of the year, because of the music and because of the fact it has come from this band once again.

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In Flames – A Sense Of Purpose

Maybe it's my pretty serious obsession with their entire discography already, but holy fuck, did this one blow me away. Despite being unbelievably pumped up by the four excellent new tracks from the accompanying EP, this album met and exceeded my expectations. Every little bit of this is just amazing, from the obscene catchiness of 'I'm The Highway' to the unprecedented scale and darkness of 'The Chosen Pessimist', from the class of 'The Mirror's Truth' to the pounding groove of 'March To The Shore'.

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Words cannot describe how much this album has done for me in the seven months it has been released. At different points in the year it has seemed as if this beautiful post-rock masterpiece was written specifically for any particular day I am having. It is utterly incredible from ‘Campaign’s melodic depth and swelling ambience, it is utterly incredible when ‘Xavii’ transforms from a desolate lament to a back-burning rage and it is utterly incredible at every single moment in between. This album is bliss, it is the best album of 2008 and it is the greatest post-rock album ever made.

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