And here we are, at the end of 2018, a year in which humanity's abject failings spilled out in a constant stream with a seemingly unending viscous, splattering thud. Going into specifics about the state of the world is utterly pointless here because (if anyone actually even reads this) doing so would only trigger the emotional reactions and ideological prejudices that self interested politicians, businesses and advertisers exploit in us daily by curating meaningless, incendiary rhetoric (lies) that we are all too willing to propagate every time we slide our grubby fingers across our touch screens. The public sphere has been reduced to a place of hysterical screaming, where uninformed opinions and degrading insults are ubiquitous. Too often we succumb to the addictive compulsion to be heard, even if we have nothing meaningful to say, rather than exercise the patience and effort required to listen, learn or understand.
But that's not what this is about. This blog started as a way for a few friends to share thoughts, impressions and tips about the music we love. In that spirit, it's the music that provided me with inspiration and an escape from the bombardment of human self defeat and wasted potential throughout 2018 that has driven me to finally log back in and type up some reflections.
But that's not what this is about. This blog started as a way for a few friends to share thoughts, impressions and tips about the music we love. In that spirit, it's the music that provided me with inspiration and an escape from the bombardment of human self defeat and wasted potential throughout 2018 that has driven me to finally log back in and type up some reflections.
So here goes...
Sleep. There was a palpable air of excitement in the text messages and emails that shot around the morning The Sciences was released by stealth, and that communal buzz made the experience of listening to the album all the more enjoyable. It was powerful and mesmerising upon first contact, and the details that subsequently became clearer ensured its impact over time. In particular, I got a huge kick out of Jason Roeder's cymbals in "Marijuanaut's Theme", the gradual building of the gargantuan end section in "Giza Butler", and the way "The Botanist" leads hypnotically to the disorienting realisation that the album is over. Of course, Matt Pike's solos were searing. And if that wasn't enough, Pike further cemented his ever growing legend with both a toe amputation and the release of High on Fire's blistering, raucous Electric Messiah.
While nothing here is presented in any particular order, I need to mention Brainoil early. Singularity to Extinction was exactly the short, sharp, ripping onslaught of sludgy death metal/punk I was hoping for. Its grim ruminations on the incursion of technology into our lives were delivered with pure savagery and some of the sickest riffs I heard all year. Tragedy sparked a similar reaction with the welcome release of their Fury EP, which saw them (and their pick slides) returning to faster, shorter songs and delivering their trademark blazing, bombastic d-beat with a slightly more anthemic bent.
I tend to think of Sumac as another band that, even more so than Eagle Twin, is creating something genuinely new and inspiring in heavy music that subverts and renders irrelevant many old tropes and cliches. This was exemplified on the challenging but engaging Love in Shadow, which built on 2016's What One Becomes by traveling more freely, intuitively and dynamically between quiet, focused experimentation and torrential volume and intensity.
There was a huge amount of superb doom, sludge and related music released in 2018. Vile Creature really stood out with Cast of Static and Smoke, an epic album based on a dystopian short story that was written by the band and provided with the LP, and which was also made available as an audiobook with its own separate score. Windhand delivered their highly engrossing, soulful take on the genre once again with Eternal Return, which offered a slightly lighter mood than previous albums.Italy's Messa wove captivating jazz instrumentation into the rumbling, melodic Feast for Water, which was fantastic. And Sentiment by Un was an album of vast and varied funeral doom with well considered changes and progressions that kept things interesting throughout.
Thou owned the middle part of the year, releasing two splits (with The Hirs Collective and the excellent Ragana), three EPs and the towering Magus LP. These releases all added something new and exciting to this vital, prolific band's disproportionately large body of work, and further proved that they will not be limited by the oppressively heavy sludge they have mastered. But to avoid repeating the large amount of coverage they received during the year, I'll just say that, as always, I'm looking forward to whatever they do next.
Singapore's Marijannah offered up an awesome dose of psychedelic stoner/'70s rock in the form of Till Marijannah, which featured some very catchy guitar lines within its melodic loudness. In a similar vein, Earthless dialled down the extended jams for more standard song structures and imbued them with Isaiah Mitchell's affecting voice on Black Heaven, with great results.
Graveyard brought the boogie woogie rock in fine style with Peace, which I thought was their best album since Hisingen Blues. Fu Manchu nailed what they do best with Clone of the Universe, and pulled out a special treat with the 21 minute "Il Mostro Atomico", a joyride featuring Alex Lifeson from Rush.
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats put out one of their most immediately enjoyable albums to date, with Wasteland. The main riff in "Shockwave City" is gold. And Khemmis, whose modern interpretation of classic metal honours the doom and prog rock of yore, dazzled with the further refinement and evolution of their craft evident on Desolation.
Moving into faster territory, Trappist's Ancient Brewing Tactics had me grinning from ear to ear with it's absolutely killer craft beer themed power violence. And Racetraitor returned to unleash livid protest and social commentary through slicing, shredding hardcore with touches of noise and ambience on 2042.
Although it would not be hard to dismiss Anal Trump as a gimmick, they actually produced an incredibly fun and solid 11 minute grind platter with The First 100 Songs, which I actually think might have pissed off both Individual-1 and Seth Putnam if they had ever heard it.
Death metal's resurgent popularity seemed to grow like a festering boil in 2018. Among the great albums that came out, Shelby Lermo's one-two punch of Coffin Birth by Extremity and Cosmovore by Ulthar hit me hardest. Where the former bludgeoned with unforgiving, straightforward hooks that had me involuntarily headbanging in my lounge room, the latter was an unhinged beast of Lovecraftian madness and confusion that held me fixated on the wild horror it portrayed.Another standout was Punishment in Flesh, the first full length from Innumerable Forms. The album carefully meted out its breaks in pace from the slower, crawling, tense kind of death that dominates the band's approach. When it did, for example in "Re-Contaminated", the impact was monstrous.
I don't give hip hop as much attention these days as I once did, but as soon as I stumbled upon the news that Edan was back, teaming up with Homeboy Sandman on Humble Pi, I was sold. Edan has always operated on another plane, and hearing his idiosyncratic, off-kilter take on classic hip hop again, with tracks like "#NeverUseTheInternetAgain", was magic. Another highlight came from the mighty Dr. Octagon, with Moosebumps: An Exploration Into Modern Day Horripilation; a banger that saw Kool Keith and Dan the Automator revive that inimitable demented, sleazy, medical horror vibe with valuable input from the likes of Kid Koala, Del and Gary Holt.
A quick note on a couple of albums that don't really fit stylistically with anything mentioned above. Even though it clearly does contain metal elements, the strengths of Zeal & Ardor's Stranger Fruit lay at least as much in its powerful gospel/soul heart and its highly infectious pop sensibilities. While it lacked some of the irresistible raw, earthy quality of 2017's Devil is Fine, I thought Stranger Fruit was a step up overall, with the disparate musical styles contributing more cohesively to the extremely well crafted songs. And Melody's Echo Chamber provided a very welcome surprise with the fantastically quirky album, Bon Voyage. Melody's eclectic psychedelic dream pop is hard to pin down for all its unknowable twists, turns and occasional blasts of squealing fuzz, but I found it very easy to get caught up in her colourful, otherworldly trip.
And finally, back to home with some releases by Australian artists that were among my favourites of the year. Wherever you are, support your local bands (just don't be a parochial moron about it)!
First up, Encircling Sea left a massive mark with Hearken, retaining the strengths of their atmospheric, black metal inflected doom within thematically focused, riff driven compositions that were truly devastating. Mournful Congregation's The Incubus of Karma demonstrated why the band is such a dominant force in funeral doom, soaring majestically on transcendent guitar lines. And on Abomination, Divide and Dissolve used avant-garde influences and minimalist doom/drone to deliver an unflinching yet artful attack upon Australia's continued oppression of Indigenous people.
A slew of outstanding records came from bands featuring various Melbourne punk and indie veterans. Geld unleashed some awesome noise drenched d-beat fury with Perfect Texture. Infinite Void left a catchy, moody farewell statement of their spacious, melodic post punk on Endless Waves. Power belted out their rough and ready brand of punk'n'roll on Turned On. Harmony built further upon their gently dissonant, bare, multiple vocal approach with the emotionally stirring Double Negative. And Tropical Fuck Storm got joyously weird and sardonic with the unpredictable, noisy art rock of A Laughing Death in Meatspace.
The mysterious Portal tore open another interdimensional mindwarp of obscure, experimental death metal with Ion, an album that really ensnared me after I saw the band perform at Dark Mofo in Hobart and was left in dumbfounded awe, scratching my head trying to understand how the hell they do it. And last, but by no means least, I am putting this post to rest right here in Canberra, with a nod to Witchskull and their second LP, Coven's Will. The record's rousing metallic riff worship seethed with hunger and rolled straight ahead with unshakeable intent. The band consistently sparked enthusiastic reactions when they let fly with this new material on stage, so here's hoping they get to take it further afield soon.That's it. Thanks for reading. Good luck in 2019.
LxP
