Top 10 Metal Albums to Play in the Summertime

Ah, summer is here at last. Time to shake off the dreary weather, put on your shorts, and hit the beaches. Or in my case, try to keep my 6 year old busy and not trying to burn the house down while he's out of school.

Summer is not usually a season associated with metal. We tend to usually think of autumn and winter, with its grey clouds, freezing winds, and overall dreariness. Summer is usually just too damn happy and light of a time; and the same usually goes for spring, except that here in eastern Washington, our spring has been more like autumn (it was snowing in mid-April for fucks sake!). Of course that doesn't usually keep us from blasting onslaughts of brutality from our speakers, car stereos, etc from dawn till dusk, but sometimes (if you are like me), there is a certain degree of wanting to listen to music that fits your surroundings. Or maybe not, maybe it just seems that way to me, but whatever...

Here in no particular order, are my top 10 albums to rock out too during the lazy days of summer. The criteria for this list is pretty simple. These are albums that either have some sort of groove factor to them, have more of an upbeat feel, give of some sort of feeling of being in warm climates, or just sound good blasting from your car stereo while you cruise down the freeway on a sunny day with your windows down. You get the idea...

Enjoy!


(1) Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley

In my opinion, the quintessential summer metal band. Might be a bit obvious since they're from the desert, but oh well. Really you could probably pick any of their offerings here, but 'Sky Valley' is probably just the one I go to the most. Queens of the Stone Age also warrants consideration, but there's more debate on whether or not they can be classified as "metal" so I went with Josh Homme's earlier work instead.

(2) Windir - 1184

Wait... a Norwegian band, for a top ten of summer list? "Really," you say? Yes really. Here's why. Although they're put into the "black metal" genre, Windir have a very unique sound that combines Scandinavian folk music with grim black metal. Okay maybe its not that unique nowadays, but Windir were one of the best at what they did. 1184 is a vibrant and lively trance through a land of wonder and fantasy, and one that just sounds summery to me. Call me crazy, but this album just seems like it would be perfect to take on a summer nature hike.

(3) Finntroll - Jaktens Tid

*sigh* Okay yes, I realize that I'm putting another Scandinavian band up here. Sorry, can't help it, Finntroll fits the list all too well. Much like Windir, Finntroll use traditional folk music mixed with fantasy lyrics in their unique brand of metal. The main difference being that Finntroll are a little bit less serious in their music and a bit more fun. Not that Windir aren't fun, well.... whatever you get the idea. Finntroll's sophomore effort 'Jaktens Tid' might not be as popular as its follow up 'Nattfödd', but its one of my personal favorites.

(4) Pantera - Far Beyond Driven

In my opinion, Pantera gets a bit of a bad rap in the extreme metal community. The major complaints are that they are too commercial, too groove oriented, and are loved by jocks and rednecks. As far as the last complaint goes, I can understand, and that is fair. On the other hand, the same could be said for Slayer and those same people will still back Slayer up, so...... I get it, but come on, unless you're still in high school, a certain demographic liking a certain band shouldn't be a reason to blow off said band. As far as the music goes, all I can do is argue Pantera's merits muscially. So I'll just say if you don't like it, try giving it another chance. This disc SCREAMS summer to me. The beginning track 'Strength Beyond Strength' has an almost punk rock feel to it.

(5) Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain

I've made little secret of my love for this band. I'll just say it again.... I LOVE THIS BAND!!! Some people might categorize Agalloch in the 'folk-black metal' genre, but I disagree. They definitely have folk elements, but 'Ashes Against the Grain' has several different musical elements that make it totally unique. Blending indie rock, doom, black metal, and folk elements, Agalloch's third offering is dark, but still has a very triumphant and warm feeling making it a great album to listen to on a sunny day.

(6) Children of Bodom - Follow the Reaper

Yes, back to Finland again. This one may not seem very summery, but its infectious grooves, blistering solos, and relentless aggression are what make it a perfect album for summer. Another one that is great for cruising down the highway with. CoB are another band that kinda gets knocked on for being too commercial, but again, I base my tastes on the merit of the music, not how popular they are (or are not).

(7) Kreator - Extreme Aggression

Speaking of relentless aggression, we have 'Extreme Aggression' from German thrash masters Kreator. By most fans' accounts, this is Kreator's best work to date, and I would have to agree - even though Kreator have put out great records on a consistent basis. If you are unfamiliar with Kreator (and you shouldn't), they basically make Metallica look like U2. Not that I have anything against U2, but you get my point.

(8) Faith No More - The Real Thing

 

I have such weird love/hate relationship with this album. I love it because.... well.... it fuckin' rocks! But the reason I hate it? One word: Epic. Not the kind of Epic used to describe the album (which it does), but Epic as in the second track on the album which turned into a radio hit. Don't get me wrong, its actually not a bad song, but...well let me give you an example: I have a Faith No More t-shirt with this exact logo on it, except on a black background. Everytime I am out and about some douchebag looks at my shirt and goes "Yeah! Those guys rock!" and proceed to belt out "Yooooooou waaaaaaant it aaaaaal but you can't have it..." and I go, "Yeah, Zombie Eaters is awesome too," which usually elicits a confused look from said douchebag. But I digress. Listen to the lyrics of the title track, its fuckin' poetry man!

(9) Napalm Death - Scum

Arguably the first grindcore album ever, 'Scum' is a 33 minute pummeling to the cerebral cortex. It makes me want to go burn down a McDonalds..... or maybe a Bank of America. Okay not really, only kidding. (if the FBI comes and takes me, then tell me wife I love her, and my kids I love them too... 'now go to bed!') From the beginning growls of "MULTI..... NATIONAL...... CORPO...... RATIONS........ GENOCIDE........OF THE......... SOVEREIGN.......... NATIONS!" you know that this is an band that doesn't fuck around. What better way to kick off summer than blasting a record that is essentially a huge middle finger to the establishment?

(10) Electric Wizard - Dopethrone 

Kinda like Black Sabbath on pot.... and even dirtier. Electric Wizard are a band that I am just finding out about and pretty much think all their stuff is gold. This album was voted "Album of the decade" by Terrorizer magazine and made Decibel's top ten of the decade in their top 100 albums of the decade. Great to listen to after (ahem) a little 'tobacco' smoking and sitting out on your porch on a warm summer night looking up at the stars.

BONUS: Anything by Iron Maiden

I mean lets face it, Maiden are great anytime, but they're just great to rock out to in the summer months.

There ya have it. If you have any comments, disagreements, or amendments to this list, feel free to leave a comment. I love to talk about this stuff, and I totally value others opinions and views on metal, so please feel free to let me know if there is an album you think I should have included here, or if you totally disagree and think that any of the aforementioned albums are in fact NOT good for summer listening, or even if you just think I'm totally full of crap and don't like summer at all and think that the world should just live in a perpetual state of winter and darkness, with nothing but the bitter cold blackness surrounding us all. 

In which case if that's you..... I think someone needs a hug!

-J

Album Review: Origin's 'Entity'

Note: Was originally going to review the new Morbid Angel album, however I refuse to pay for it until I hear it in its entirety due to extremely mixed reviews I have been getting. Instead I am opting to go with Origin's latest opus.

Band: Origin
Album: Entity
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Label: Nuclear Blast 

Origin have a very special place in my black heart. Two summers ago, when I was working a shitty ass job as a convenience store clerk, I found time to make it to the Summer Slaughter Tour; which that year featured this band as well as Dying Fetus, Necrophagist, and (the ultimate icing on the cake) Behemoth. I enjoyed most of the bands (there were a few that were either decent or just crap), but Origin put on a hell of a show. Not only that, but my buddy Cameron had made some contacts with Paul their lead guitarist, and so I got to hang out and talk with him for a little while. And the guy was really cool! He was extremely gracious, and incredibly humble; and I don't know about you, but if I could play guitar that well, I would have a hard time being that humble. 

Origin's latest album comes comes on the heels of their 2008 release Antithesis, an record which garnered praise from fans and critics alike. The biggest difference with Entity is the absence of vocalist James Lee, now replaced by the relatively unknown Jason Keyser. Lee's abscence from the record is definitely a mark against them, though to be fair Origin has had a tough time keeping members due to their obscurity and lack of proximity to each other. Keyser is serviceable at best; he is able to keep the signature Origin sound alive, but has nowhere near the amount of emotion and high/low contrasting range which Lee brought on Origin's previous releases. 

Aside from that, Entity keeps the signature Origin sound alive. The sweeping arpegios, maniacal time signatures, and machine gun double bass drumming are back with a few surprises mixed in. For the most part, the tracks hit you hard and fast - only four of the eleven tracks clock in at over three minutes, and of the four that do, two of them hit the six minute mark. One of these tracks, 'Saligia', is an epic journey dotted with staccato riffing laden with double bass grooves. The guitar leads have an almost middle eastern feel to them, akin to American death metal brethren Nile. Two tracks later, 'Fornever' uses the same type of exotic riffing but also includes a very slowed down guitar riff over lightening fast double bass patterns. Its also nice to see a throwback to the classic Celtic Frost/Bathory style intro in the song 'Banishing Illusion' - which later takes another strange twist when it moves into a folksy sort of dance riff almost akin to something you'd find from Finnish folk metal provocateurs Finntroll.

There is definitely some good variety here, however a lot of the tracks are pretty basic; not that being basic or simple is a bad thing, but for Origin - a band known for their technical prowess - its somewhat of a letdown. There are also times when they throw new sounds in that just don't work. Take for example the high-pitched guitar squeals in 'Committed' that might be considered adventurous, but to me they just sound a bit annoying. There are also times when the bands chaotic swarms of sound can get a little bit too chaotic, such as the appropriately titled 'Swarm'. That might be a misnomer when we're talking about a band like Origin, however there is definitely an argument to be made that Antithesis and it's predecessor Echoes of Decimation were able to pull it off, whereas parts of Entity seem to use chaotic time signatures simply for the sake of being chaotic.

As a whole the album is strong, though there is a not a whole lot that is new here. In the case of a band like Origin, I do understand that they have a particular sound, and they really are not the same band unless they adhere to said sound. Having said that, if you are looking for classic Origin, you will not be disappointed. I personally would like to see a little more growth from the band; I look at Entity as being more of a transitional record. They seem to be trying to regroup and find their direction going forward, and Entity is most definitely a solid release. I just didn't 'WOW' me like Echoes and Antithesis did.

OVERALL SCORE: 8 out of 10


-J

Metal Rant of the Month: Metal Snobs

I'm sure many of you have experienced this before: you're on some metal forum from a certain metal magazine (I won't say which one), and you see a comment such as this one:

    "All the identity has been sucked out of the forum. It might as well be the revolver forum" - direct quote

Sorry, not trying to throw Revolver under the bus here, but you see my point. That one's not bad compared to this one though.

     "the new dimmu borgir album is horrible and they should kill themselves for making it. talk about           overproduction of bad material!"

Actually I kind of agree with this guy, but killing themselves for making an album? That's a bit harsh. How bout this gem....

     "this has to be the poorest excuse for black metal in the history of the genre. it's not heavy enough to qualifiy for metal anyways, I've heard green day play more brutal songs"

Actually this one was taken from a youtube video comment, but the douchebaggery remains in tact.

This is pretty much what I imagine some of of these assholes looking like... or maybe this....

Yeah that looks about right. Okay you all get the point,

"But It's the fucking internet," you say, "Its basically the mouthpiece for any idiot that things he's hot shit but really not, and wouldn't ever even consider telling his own mother to go fuck herself for fear that she may kick him out of the basement. I mean any asshole with an internet connection can start a blog up and spout of his opinion like he thinks anyone really cares about it!"


(silence)......



Um, right. Forget I said that one, moving on....


Its true that no matter what you are talking about in cyberspace, be it music, movies, television; even candle making for fuck's sake (yes, I know someone that was on some candle makers' boards and they do the same thing), there will always be people who wanna be haters. Most of us choose to do the responsible thing: ignore them. However when it comes to the world of heavy metal - and I understand its not exclusive to our world - it seems that life imitates cyberspace in these situations.

Well at least it seems to where I live. Here in Spokane Washington, there is a very small but dedicated contingent of extreme metalheads. When I say extreme metal heads, I mean the those that are into extreme metal. There are plenty of mainstreamers that are into the usual Slipknot, Lamb of God, Black Label Society, shit like that. Not that there's anything wrong with that music, just not exactly my cup of tea for the most part.

So we extreme metalheads are few and far between. You'd think that we'd be a tight knit group, but that isn't really the case. To be fair, I don't really know many of them personally. The few that I do know are actually really cool people. Its the one's that I see or casually talk to at metal shows that are usually the uptight snobby pricks that tend to dot the landscape of extreme metalheads. I hate to make this comparison, but extreme metalheads are like hipsters in the indie rock crowd; or as I call them, music snobs. They feel this strange obligation to defend the world from bad music (or at least what they consider to be bad) and feel like the fact that they love some obscure indie rock band from Oregon makes them better than everyone else. The strangest part is that on the one hand, they will totally trash you for your musical tastes, but at the same time they don't really want you to get into their music, as they will completely abandon it once it becomes "commercial." The best example in the metal world that I can give is Cradle of Filth. Throughout the early to mid-nineties, Cradle were considered on of the premier extreme metal acts, and everyone I knew that was into the genre loved Cradle. Admittedly, I didn't know that many people that were into extreme metal at the time, but I can safely say at least that those I did know listened to, if not worshiped Cradle. Then Cradle got big, and started changing their sound. "Fuck those guys" was pretty much the reaction. Now admittedly I'm not a huge fan of the stuff Cradle has been putting out recently, but I know some metal fans that denounce anything past 'The Principle of Evil Made Flesh' because it started getting too "commercial."

Maybe that's a bad example. Lets take it a step further. Lets look at a genre with (in my opinion) the snobbiest of the metal snobs as fans: black metal.

Dammit! Whose idea was it to forge an upside down cross out of razorblades anyway?

Black metal is extremely near and dear to my heart because it is what got me back into extreme music. I must admit something here: I am an extreme johnny-come-lately to the extreme metal scene. It has only been in the past three to four years that I have really been immersed into it. I had dabbled with things like Cradle of Filth, Morbid Angel, and Cannibal Corpse in high school, but none of it really stuck with me at the time. After high school the most extreme stuff I was into was Slayer, other than that it was mostly mainstream metal that I was into. Keep in mind this is Spokane Washington, and I was in high school from 1996 to 2000; a time period highly regarded as the dark ages of metal. This is after all the period which saw such great bands as Limp Bizkit, HedPE, Slipknot, and Drowning Pool were rising to prominence. (I know, shoot me now right?) Sure there was some stuff happening deep underground, but I didn't know anything about it because everyone in my high school was listening to Limp Bizkit, Korn, and ICP; I had a few friends that were in stuff like Slayer and Sepultura, but that was it. Couple that with the fact that I was a practicing Christian at the time, and there was absolutely no chance of any cool extreme metal sticking with me.

With that being said, I know I don't have a whole lot of ground to criticize black metal's followers, but I'm going to anyway because it needs to be said. This whole garbage about "true kvlt black metal" needs to fuckin stop! Again, I love old school black metal. When I discovered Mayhem, Burzum, Emperor, Darkthrone, and Enslaved, I thought I had just discovered gold. I was hooked! I started finding other bands like Xasthur, Nachtmystium, Marduk, Watain, Antaeus, Gorgoroth, Carpathian Forest, and Judas Iscariot (to name just a few). Then I started doing some research into black metal's history, and seeing how it has evolved into the present day.

Today, black metal is certainly not what it started out as, but it has evolved, changed, experimented, and branched out. You have bands like Wolves in the Throne room and Agalloch (both from here in the pacific northwest I might add) who have added influences from indie rock and folk music. You have bands like Enslaved and Nachtmystium who have added progressive rock and psychedelic sounds to black metal. And then you have a band like Deathspell Omega, who.... well.... they're just fantastic! They've taken black metal to the next level. Even bands like Darkthrone and Burzum, though sticking to a lo-fi DIY type formula, have changed and evolved over the years.

Agaolloch's 'The Watcher's Monolith' from their latest album 'Marrow of the spirit. I dare you not to love it!

"True kvlt black metal" just does not exist anymore, or if it does, it exists in the extreme underground. Bands like Carpathian Forest and Gorgoroth are of course still (mostly) adhering to the black metal style and staying true to the original sound; and that is great. I have nothing against it, and I think that the black metal sound still withstands the test of time. On the other hand, these defenders of the "necro kvlt black metal' sound or whatever they wanna call it continue to rail against the new breed of "post" black metal bands that come out and dare to put their own spin on it. And while we're on the subject, I'm sick and tired of all this bashing on Cradle of Filth and Dimmu Borgir. Yes I understand they drastically changed their sound and went commercial, but honestly, who cares? Critics say, "They're not black metal!" but the thing is Cradle and Dimmu don't even call themselves black metal; same goes for a lot of the post black metal acts out there today. So what the fuck are you whining about? Either listen to it or don't. Cradle and Dimmu are going to continue to do their own things. I'm not necessarily into it myself, but I don't sit there and cry about them on the metal forums because I think they're sullying the good name of black metal or some shit.

Same goes for most extreme metal today; whether you're talking about death metal, grindcore, thrash, or whatever. There are people out there who long for the days of early Cannibal Corpse, or Deicide, or Morbid Angel, or Darkthrone, or whatever. So if that's the case... then just listen to those early albums and shut the fuck up. Either you like the new breed of stuff coming out, or you don't. If you don't then you are entitled to your own opinion about it, just keep in mind that not everyone wants to hear about it. But pining for the days of extreme metal circa 1989-1994 is not going to make it come back. Metal cannot go back, it can only move forward. 

-J 

Top 10 WORST Album Covers

Okay, so I gave you my top 20 metal album covers, and it should be obvious to most of you that there is some great artwork out there in the world of metal. However, most of you probably are also aware that there is a lot of shitty album art out there as well. After all, metal did give us bands like W.A.S.P., Over Kill, and Manowar (apologies to any of you who dig those bands).

While I could probably do a list of about 100 bad album covers, these are ten that I chose based on an otherwise great band and/or album, but the cover art is just crap. Because really I could probably put every Anvil, Warrant, and Whitesnake album on here, but those are bands that I frankly don't really care for or about, and so it would be like someone poking fun at the movie Gigli without even having seen it. Wait...... never mind, I do that.

Okay folks enough talk, let the awful art exhibit begin!


(1) Sepultura - Morbid Visions

It pains me to have to put a band that made my top 20 best list on the worst as well, but it HAS to be done. This cover is just too god-awful for words!

(2) Slayer - Show No Mercy

Ditto for this one. A lot of people would give the "Slayer's worst cover" distinction to 'Hell Awaits', but I'm sorry, this one is WAY worse.

(3) Anthrax - Fistful of Metal

You know, I'm startin' to feel a little bad about picking three debut records right off the bat. Kinda like bitching about a debut's bad production quality, or choice of wardrobe - at least that's the case with most bands from the 80's. So having said that, lets move on to a band that should have known better.

(4) Morbid Angel - Domination

Gawd this cover is awful! And it sucks because this is by my count the third band to make this list that also made my 'best covers list' as well. But man I can't get over this cover. The album is not embraced all that warmly by fans, but I actually do like Domination as a record. But I get kinda nauseous every time I look at this cover. Purple and green just should not go together kids.

(5) Kreator - Endless Pain

Yes, another debut, but here's a band that didn't make my best list. Probably because most of Kreator's album covers were shit. Awesome band..... REALLY bad cover art.

(6) Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark

Anyone picking up on the "Muscular barbarian lookin' guy with a horned mask on his face' theme here? Again, great album, many people debate the merits of this particular record, but I don't know anyone who likes the cover. Did they use the same set from the movie 'The Ten Commandments' for this photo?

(7) Belphegor - Blood Magick Necromance

Ah finally, a more recent record to taunt. Actually this album was pretty good, and I LOVE me some Belphegor. Its actually sad really, because generally their artwork is very cool, but I'm sorry, this one is just WAY too silly-looking to be taken seriously.

(8) Autopsy - Severed Survival

Another great record with a terrible cover. I mean it looks like they're tearing apart Gumby, just with human colored skin and a little blood thrown in. It looks like Autopsy was going for disturbing and obscene, but it ended up just looking comical. I prefer the vinyl cover art myself (which if you're curious to check out, you can find it here)

(9) Napalm Death - Diatribes

Most ND fans are torn over this period in the bands history, but I actually tend to like their stuff from the 90's. Maybe not as much as their older stuff, but still. Needless to say this cover is just wrong on so many levels. Is that supposed to be a burnt hand? It kinda looks more like a burnt chicken wing. And there's that green and purple I was telling you about before!

(10) Pantera - Metal Magic

Even the remaining members of Pantera will tell you that this was a less proud time in their history, but man this cover is an 11 on the cheeziness scale. It looks like a bad high school mascot painting from the 80's, you know like you'd see in a gymnasium? "Your West Valley High fighting Panteras ladies and gentlemen!"

Honorable Mention

Manowar - (take your pick)

I'll admit it, there IS something sort of endearing about Manowar. Yest they are extremely corny, but I guess that's kind of the point. Never the less, their album covers are just too gay for words. I don't use that term lightly - you know like the people that say "oh that's gay" at everything they find ridiculous, unfair, etc. Seriously, look at these guys! I really wonder if maybe they are still in the closet. Come on, they're wearing leather chaps and speedos. Manowar gets an honorable mention because I don't really know a whole lot about them, just heard some of their music (not a lot) and again, its corny but kinda fun. But once again, I don't wanna pick on a band that I don't really have a whole lot to do with.

Top 20 Metal Album Covers

It could be argued that album artwork is almost as important as the music itself. Okay maybe not, but it can definitely add to the overall aesthetic of the record. I am very much an artwork person, and though I don't judge an album by its cover, I can appreciate a great album cover... and the genre of heavy metal in general has some great ones!

Here are my top 20 (in no particular order). I was originally going to do top ten, but I had too many I just couldn't cut from the final list. Remember that these are based on my opinion if you have any others that I should have mentioned here, leave me a comment! My criteria was based upon use of color, creativity, and the emotional response it elicits. Enjoy!

(1) Mastodon - Leviathan

Colorful, emotional, and just plain cool! Paul Romano's depiction of the 'White Whale' will definitely be remembered as a classic. Mastodon's other 3 full length albums could easily have made the list too, but I chose this one for a number of reasons; the main one being that it is the most recognizable.

(2) Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse

Every time I look closer at this cover I notice something new. Done by the great Kristian Wåhlin (aka Necrolord) Emperor's debut album has become iconic within the black metal scene. One could definitely argue as well that Emperor was taking a bold move at the time creating such a vibrant and colorful cover when most other black metal bands (ie Darkthrone, Burzum) were going with very simple black and white artwork.

(3) Darkthrone - Transylvanian Hunger

Speaking of simple black and white artwork from black metal bands, you can't go wrong with Transylvanian Hunger. Maybe not Darkthrone's best album, but definitely iconic in terms of black metal history. It's atmospheric, dark, and just plain evil!

(4) Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated

Zombie's need love too! Okay I'll admit, this album mainly made the cut (no pun intended) because of its controversial nature, even though it could be argued that there were other CC albums that generated more controversy than this one. I'm sure a lot of people would say that I should have chosen 'Butchered At Birth' over this one, but my opinion is that zombie love wins out over dead babies on hooks in this case.

(5) Dismember - Pieces [EP]

Quite arguably the "most metal" album cover of all time. I mean come on! It's five severed heads (of the bandmembers) with their hair tied together forming a pentagram. Can't argue with that.

(6) Baroness - Blue Record

Moving from extreme to more artful and abstract, we have Baroness' blue record. Really we should mention both this one and its predecessor 'The Red Album' since both are pretty fantastic. But the Blue Record cover wins out simply on the author's personal taste. Both albums were done by John Baizley who also did artwork for Pig Destroyer's 'Phantom Limb', another great cover which almost made this list.

(7) Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion

No metal album cover bests would be complete without at least something from the great H.R. Giger. Danzig III is also worth mentioning here, but the aesthetic of this one speaks to me a bit more which is why I chose Celtic Frost's debut full length to highlight here. The original title is called 'Satan I' and is from 1977.

(8) Deathspell Omega - Fas – Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum

Powerful, iconic, and representative of the bands musical qualities. The piece is simple, elegant, abstract, and full of religious symbolism; much like Deathspell Omega's brand of avant-gaarde black metal. The album title translates, "Divine law - Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire!" which definitely fits as a descriptor for this drawing by Finnish artist Timo Ketola; who is also well known for drawing Opeth's "O" logo.

(9) Sepultura - Arise

This one was difficult. I didn't want to choose two Sepultura albums, and yet I was torn between this one and Chaos A.D. Arise won out mostly due to personal taste, but also because it is a superior record (though Chaos A.D. is still great). The artist for both albums is famed metal artist Michael Whelen (who will appear again shortly) and Arise in particular is his interpretation of H.P. Lovecraft's famed 'Yog-Sothoth' creature.

(10) Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane

Another Necrolord cover, I should mention in the interest of full disclosure that I love this cover so much that I had it as my desktop background for about a year. It's hard not to be mesmerized by this picture, and its a perfect example of a cover generating the same type of emotional feeling that you get when you listen to the album. It's too bad Jon Nödtveidt had to off himself, I would have loved to see if he could have recaptured the genius that was Storm of the Light's Bane (I'm not a fan of Reinkaos)


(11) Dying Fetus - War of Attrition

How can you not LOVE this cover? Well, maybe if you're an uber-patriotic conservative with no sense of irony... but I digress. Maybe not Dying Fetus' best album, but an evocative cover none the less.

(12) Slayer - Divine Intervention

Most metal purists would point to 'Reign in Blood' as the quintessential Slayer album cover, but at the risk of being too obvious - as well as the fact that I think its a better cover - I am going with DI instead. This is actually the very first Slayer cover I ever saw and I just remember thinking how absolutely wicked it was. The band went a different direction from their last 3 records (Larry Carrol was the artist on this one) and enlisted Wes Benscoter to illustrate Slayer's 6th full length album.

(13) Nachtmystium - Instinct Decay

 

Quite possibly the best post-black metal group to break into the mainstream, Instinct Decay is Nachtmystium's third full length album and in my opinion their best. Though their two latest (the 'Black Meddle' records) get all of the attention, this is the one that marked the bands new direction melding black metal with psychedelic rock. The cover is dark and cerebral, again matching the feel of the music.

(14) Obituary - Cause of Death

Another historic Michael Whelan illustration which, apparently, was supposed to have been used for the cover of Sepultura's 'Arise' (see #9) but instead was used by Obituary since it came out one year before Arise. This cover looks like a tornado of tortured souls sucking in a mummified corpse. Whatever your interpretation of the illustration, it's pretty damn sick!

(15) Leviathan - Tentacles of Whorror

Going back to another American black metal band, we have an album that came in at number 66 on Decibel Magazine's Top 100 albums of the decade. While this isn't the first album I've listed here that made that list, I'd be willing to bet its the first one many of you have never heard of to make it. There is something incredibly beautiful and disturbing about the cover image, much like the haunting lo-fi black metal contained in the record itself.

(16) Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

Thus far I haven't included any classic metal albums, but its not for lack of good artwork. Sabbath's fifth full length album was illustrated by Drew Struzan and the cover is certainly one of their most memorable. Well, most memorable and GOOD. Paranoid is memorable, but more because it was so bad.

(17) Morbid Angel - Blessed Are the Sick

Again, fans normally point to 'Altars of Madness' and Dan Seagrave's classic illustration, but I'm gonna have to go with 'Blessed' as MA's best cover. The painting used is entitled Les Trésors de Satan by Belgian artist Jean Delville. Some critics say that the art is kind of muddled, and that it's hard to tell everything that is going on, but I think it simply adds a mysterious quality to the record.

(18) Neurosis - A Sun That Never Sets

I think a strong case could be made here for 'Through Silver in Blood', but I chose this album for its more abstract quality. If you look at this cover long enough, you almost begin to become mesmerized by it. It almost reminds me of one of those magic eye pictures that you used to stare at when you were a kid, and then you'd see a sailboat (or not).

(19) Naglfar - Sheol

A band that in my opinion, does not get the respect it deserves. Not only does their music kick ass, their album covers are really fuckin' cool! This is another that was hard to choose from, but Sheol definitely looks the most evil. The album isn't bad either, I don't care how much people compare Jens Rydén's vocals to Dani Filth (I don't think they sound that much alike personally).

And last but not least......

(20) Katatonia - Tonight's Decision

I know this sounds kind of redundant, but once again this was a tough one to pick. I knew I had to put one of Katatonia's album covers in this list, but considering that all of their covers - with the exception of maybe 'Dance of December Souls' - are awesome, this was probably the one I had the toughest time coming to a decision on. Three things I love about this cover 1) The color scheme. It's simple but yet vibrant and jumps out at you. 2) The translucent man on the tracks, sure its a little cliche, but it works. 3) It has a very 1930's/great depression era feel to it, which in a way is counter to metal, but again... seems to work.

There ya have it! Leave me a comment and let me know if there's an album on this list that you think I should have included here. Also coming up soon, just for fun, I'm gonna do a top 10 list of the worst metal album covers; and there ARE some BAD ones, let me tell ya. So be on the lookout for that. Stay evil everyone!

-J

Welcome to Hell!

Greetings fellow Metal fans!

This is my blog dedicated to all things metal. I don't necessarily know where I'm going with it, or how long I will keep it going. At the moment, I don't have anybody following me; so I guess it partially depends on whether or not people actually enjoy hearing me rant and rave about metal.

This blog will include lists (everyone loves lists), album reviews, and personal thoughts on the metal community at large. I also will plug other metal blogs, websites, etc. that I run across from time to time. Musically I am into black, death, thrash, progressive, sludge, doom, grindcore, technical, and classic metal. I am also into lots of non-metal music too ranging from classical, jazz, and modern rock. I dig anything that's really unique and different and I don't care too much for popular music. Essentially these are my own opinions about metal, and I welcome criticism, but I don't respond to trolls or general stupidity (just puttin' it out there).

Eventually I am going to be starting up a more serious blog dealing with socio-political issues and problems facing our society at large, but that is going to be further off. I want that blog to be more informed and intellectually stimulating and I want to do a little more research before starting that up, so stay tuned...

That's all for now!

-J