A Year In Metal - 2017: Highlights Through The Eyes Of The MS Staff, Elites & Official Contributors
Written by: | D.T. Metal |
Published: | January 21, 2018 |
Here we are once more on the cusp of the 2017 Metal Storm Awards; we're all in a rush here, pencil-pushing and nose-grinding in order to prepare, but it's not time for those particular festivities just yet. Mid-January is, for us in Metal Storm Towers, the time to reflect on the past year and share with the world our highs and lows, our peaks and valleys, our triumphs and defeats, our 2003 Opeths and our 2011 Opeths (so to speak).
Many of you are probably putting together your own end-of-year lists right about now, either in preparation to storm the walls of the MSAs in a couple of weeks or just for your own amusement and that of your friends and fellow users.
Well, fear not, because if you're still struggling to pick the best third-wave blackened whatsit-core album of 2017, the correct answers are all right here. The MS crew, from the tall to the small, have picked out their hottest jams and the coolest gigs from the last 12 months.
Naturally, we can't wait to find out how wrong we all are, so feel free to comment on the selection below - but who knows? Maybe you'll find a cool recommendation.
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Staff
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Staff
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[user_id]13767[/user_id] Favorite Album: The Drip - The Haunting Fear Of Inevitability. Best Home-Country Album: / Most Played Song: Rage Against The Machine - Know Your Enemy. Most Promising Band: Gloson. Best Concert: Benighted. Saw them twice last year (for the first time). Both times a killer, all-in performance, as expected. Biggest Disappointment: Nothing worth mentioning. Metal Moment Of 2017: The birth of my second child, baby girl this time. And 2018?: As always, try to attend some (hopefully great) concerts, not only metal-related. Couple of them already reserved. Also, excited to listen to the upcoming new releases: top priority - Mournful Congregation, also new Faal record. |
[user_id]108040[/user_id] Favorite Album: How anyone can accomplish the feat of picking just one eludes me every year. But shout outs especially to Skáphe, The Ruins Of Beverast, Almyrkvi, and Billy Woods and Afsprengi Satans for nonmetal. Best Home Country Album: Full Of Hell & The Body - Ascending A Mountain Of Heavy Light. Just form a permanent band already, you spookies. Most Played Song: Bandcamp's play button for Cambrian's "Seaweed Shaman" has definitely been abused this year. That lap steel guitar... cowabunga, dudes! Most Promising Band: This one goes to the amigos in Pylar once again. I cannot stress enough how much these guys have wowed me lately and made me completely rethink the boundaries of both doom metal and drone music in general. Metal Moment of 2017: Interviewing the mighty black metal spellcaster that is Alex Poole. If you're reading, thanks again man. 'Twas a blast. Biggest Disappointment: Definitely the new Wolves In The Throne Room album. People call Celestite dull and uninteresting while praising this thing? And 2018?: Back to Roadburn after missing the 2017 edition, getting the long awaited history degree, and finally unveiling some (nonmetal) music of my own. |
[user_id]1423[/user_id] Favorite Album: Emptiness - Not For Music Best Home-Country Album: Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper, with a strong honorable mention to Loss - Horizonless Most Played Song: Santo Rostro - "A Small Victory" Most Promising Band: Au-Dessus Best Concert: Some rando metal gig in a plaza, downtown Asuncion watching a bunch of local bands play in 38C heat to locals, including Jeff's (remember him?) Paraguayan Doppleganger sporting a Coroner shirt. Metal Moment Of 2017: Setting Santiago, Chile on fire with Mr. Doctor - drinking craft beer, eating completos, vomiting in the streets. Good times. Biggest Disappointment: Procession recording an album in Santiago while both Roddy and I were there and not inviting us. We would have brought completos and beer for all. And (probably) not vomited on your instruments. 2nd is a whole bunch of acts playing PY after I moved. And 2018?: Hopefully catching some gigs in Bogota. Returning to the US to guzzle craft beer by the sixer? And Marcel likely bumping some awesome doom my way. |
[user_id]966[/user_id] Favorite Album: Bent Knee - Land Animal; Pain Of Salvation - In The Passing Light Of Day; Leprous - Malina; Amenra - Mass VI; Converge - The Dusk In Us. Best Home-Country Album: Nothing beats Moonspell - 1755 (the kings); honorable mention: The Ominous Circle - Appalling Ascension Most Played Song: Bent Knee - "Land Animal"; Chelsea Wolfe - "16 Psyche"; Hallatar - "Dreams Burn Down"; Nevermore "Narcosynthesis" Most Promising Band: The Thirteenth Sun; Hallatar; Au-Dessus Best Concert: Without a doubt, Green Carnation in Lisbon this December. It was their first time playing in Portugal and it was worth every single second. I've waited decades for this and I cried... Closely followed by Emma Ruth Rundle's show which was an experience in itself. What a magical, deep and cozy show. Got to chat with her after the show, she signed my CDs and is the nicest person ever. Biggest Disappointment: Missing out on some gigs in Lisbon. I wish I could've attended more shows. In terms of releases: Anathema - The Optimist and Steven Wilson - To The Bone. Metal Moment Of 2017: Getting my black belt in Karate. Nothing says metal more than sticking up to your guns and fighting for what you want and believe in And 2018?: I expect some surprises. 2017 wasn't a big metal year for me even though they were many good releases out there. But with upcoming shows by Steven Wilson, Rotting Christ, Iron Maiden and Dark Tranquillity already booked plus good festivals in Portugal next summer, it's bound to be fun. |
[user_id]125330[/user_id] Favorite Album: Kreator - Gods Of Violence and Battle Beast - Bringer Of Pain Best Home-Country Album: Kreator - Gods Of Violence and Rage - Seasons Of The Black Most Played Song: Powerwolf's "Army Of The Night" and Amaranthe's "Boomerang" Most Promising Band: Once Human and CyHra Best Concert: Tombs at the local club followed by Powerwolf and Kreator at [url= http://www.metalstorm.net/events/event.php?event_id=134107]Metal Hammer Paradise Festival[/url] and last but not least Pain blew me away on the [url= http://www.metalstorm.net/events/event.php?event_id=128592]70000tons cruise[/url] Biggest Disappointment: UFO live? ugh, I like them better on vinyl/CD. Metal Moment Of 2017: finally getting my ProgPower USA cherry popped and hanging out with Angel Dust all day long. Also, after decades, finally seeing Sacred Reich doing a proper US Tour And 2018?: once again the 70K cruise adventure followed by prolly tons of shows (I will actually try to do concert reviews again next year). 2018 - let's do this |
[user_id]1861[/user_id] Favorite Album: maybe Skyclad's comeback to decent stuff with Forward Into The Past Best Home-Country Album: Pryapisme - Diabolicus Felinae Pandemonium Most Played Song: Some Circle Of Dust and Argyle Park for the first half of the year (with "Neophyte" probably taking the cake), and loads of Nevermore at the end. Most Promising Band: N/A Best Concert: No Hellfest this year, but I had my fill of great shows, the best being tied between Devin Townsend Project (fantastic set in Bordeaux with an added accoustic version of "Life" at the request of a fan), Dark Tranquillity in Barcelona, or Textures's farewell show. Biggest Disappointment: Textures breaking up. Saddest moment: Warrel Dane's demise. Metal Moment Of 2017: Knowing that my first short story will be published next year (so, that's this year). Quitting my job. Moshing with a sprained ankle? I didn't. Starting brewing in my kitchen. And 2018?: brewing, writing, being published, going back hunting minerals in old mines. And maybe Hellfest. |
[user_id]125[/user_id] Favorite Album: Bent Knee - Land Animals, Aldenfield - Light Of Day, Gåte - Attersyn, Grails - Chalice Hymnal, Lunatic Soul - Fractured, Shireen - Matriarch Most Promising Band: If Vôdûn's gig is anything to go by, I stand by the opinion that they are on the rise. Best Concert: Without a doubt Vôdûn at V11 in Rotterdam. Handful of people and a concert that blew away even the Midsummer Prog the day before. Biggest Disappointment: It looked like a quiet year gig-wise. Metal Moment Of 2017: Finding aftermarket tickets to Midsummer Prog Festival two days before the event and actually making the trip there. Also seeing all three outstanding Ayreon live performances with Damian Wilson crowdsurfing all the way out of the back doors after the final show. What a grand exit that was! And I'm glad Riverside is going strong despite their loss. And 2018?: Good stuff comes to those who search for it! But I have hight hopes for the new Vôdûn and Oceans Of Slumber albums. |
[user_id]2481[/user_id] Favorite Album: Ignea - The Sign Of Life, Setheist - They, Talvienkeli - Hybris, Edenbridge - The Great Momentum Best Home-Country Album: Seven Spires - Solveig Most Played Song: <b>The Black Capes</b> - "Now Rise" / <b>The Eden House - "Ours Again" / End Of The Dream - "Until You Break" / Angelwings - "Lilith" Most Promising Band: [band]Mizantropia[/band], [band]Vespera[/band] Biggest Disappointment: The end of HIM Metal Moment Of 2017: Reconnecting with a woman I met once during 2003 while doing my European metal radio show, and now beginning to build a life with someone who shares the spirit of metal with me And 2018?: Looking forward to starting the year off well with seeing Judas Priest and Nightwish within a week of each other, the return of the local metal festival, RPM, and to returning to my more adventurous ways after years of neglecting them. |
[user_id]207[/user_id] Favorite Album: Venenum - Trance Of Death Best Home-Country Album: Façade - Loathe Most Played Song: KISS - Strutter, Thin Lizzy - Emerald Most Promising Band: Venenum Best Concert: Three joint gigs. Warning playing Watching From A Distance in its entirety at Roadburn, Psychotic Waltz in Fluor, Amersfoort, Netherlands, In The Woods... at Dutch Doom Days, Baroeg, Rotterdam, Netherlands Biggest Disappointment: I tend to forget disappointments when it comes to music. Metal Moment Of 2017: Wearing my pink Yeastie Boys shirt at Roadburn and sharing a couple of beers with Marco Kehren of Deinonychus and formerly also Bethlehem at Eindhoven Metal Meeting's second day. And 2018?: I'll just wait and see what 2018 brings me. |
[user_id]109674[/user_id] Favorite Album: Most played goes to Lunatic Soul's Fractured and Unleash The Archers' Apex Best Home-Country Album: Organized Chaos - Divulgence. Prog metal in Serbia has suffered from "vacated this planet after an outstanding debut release"-syndrome for a while, and it's nice to finally get a second album from these guys. This is their One Hour By The Concrete Lake, already can't wait for their The Perfect Element. Most Played Song: The Dark Element - The Ghost And The Reaper Most Promising Band: Looking forward to hearing what Seven Spires, Perihelion Ship and The Thirteenth Sun have in store for the future. Best Concert: Tossup between Enslaved promoting E in Garage, Bergen, and seeing Vulture Industries in a literal cave venue. Biggest Disappointment: A few months ago, my Norwegian teacher assigned an essay topic I really didn't feel like doing, so after the deadline I delivered a shoddy essay I had cobbled up the night before that was barely related to his assignment. And in that moment, I was Jari of Wintersun, and he was me. Metal Moment Of 2017: Moving to Norway! And 2018?: Not really looking forward to anything. Surprise me, 2018! |
[user_id]828[/user_id] Favorite Album: Hard to pick just one, but i'd say Venenum - Trance Of Death & Pain Of Salvation - In The Passing Light Of Day Best Home-Country Album: Nervecell - Past, Present... Torture Most Played Song: Dyscarnate - Iron Strengthens Iron Most Promising Band: Pure Wrath Best Concert: There's been so many! But icing on the cake has to be Warning playing Watching From A Distance in its entirety at Roadburn, Biggest Disappointment: Finishing the year off by losing my job. How am i supposed to keep my vinyl addition going now?! Metal Moment Of 2017: Attending Roadburn for the first time & finally meeting Rod & Marcel in person. And 2018?: Who knows! |
[user_id]109309[/user_id] Favorite Album: Amenra - Mass VI Best Home-Country Album: ROSK - Miasma Most Played Song: "III: Non-Existence's Warmth (Infinite Natality Psychosis)" by Tchornobog Most Promising Band: Au-Dessus Best Concert: - Biggest Disappointment: Blut Aus Nord - Deus Salutis Meae Metal Moment Of 2017: I bought my first record player and started a vinyl collection And 2018?: New Tribulation on the way! |
[user_id]109472[/user_id] Favorite Album: Elvenking - Secrets Of The Magick Grimoire Best Home-Country Album: Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper Most Played Song: Kreator - "Satan Is Real"; Battle Beast - "Beyond The Burning Skies"; Orden Ogan - "Come With Me To The Other Side"; Beast In Black - "Beast In Black"; Doll$Boxx - "Shout Down" Most Promising Band: Beast In Black Best Concert: Sorry, metal, but it was Midnight Oil. Second place, however, does go to Devin Townsend Project/Dark Water Transit/Bridge To Divide, with a close third in Orphaned Land/Pain/VooDoo KungFu/A Sound Of Thunder. Biggest Disappointment: you (and by that I mean Tengger Cavalry) Metal Moment Of 2017: meeting Pat Walker of Warning... but also explaining at length to A Sound Of Thunder why Rogue One is a bad movie because nobody uses their deflector shields (oh, but getting made editor-in-chief of this site was pretty neat-o) And 2018?: Nothing terribly ambitious, but let's have a good, clean year. |
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Elites and Official Contributors
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Elites and Official Contributors
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[user_id]1443[/user_id] Favorite Album: Have to name a few: Venenum Trance of Death - absolutely amazing in every possible way Immolation Atonement - the only old death metal band that didn't disappoint with their latest release Cradle Of Filth Cryptoriana - their best since Cruelty, but takes quite a few listens to appreciate Best Home-Country Album: Hate Tremendum - maybe finally they won't be called Behemoth 2.0 Most Played Song: Cradle Of Filth The Night At Catafalque Manor Most Promising Band: Venenum - even though they're not really a new band. Best Concert: Iron Maiden, Wroclaw City Stadium, July 2nd. Maiden's latest live album has "Death or Glory", which was recorded duting that gig. Biggest Disappointment: Suffocation Of The Dark Light - after one listen I was hyped, but the more I listened, the more disappointed I became... Metal Moment Of 2017: Meeting Nergal in a grocery store. And 2018?: Ahab releases a new album every 3 years, so... How they can top their brilliant latest release is beyond me, but I'm sure they can pull it off! Tribulation Down Below - early reviews are rave Tool... I don't mind waiting over a decade for their new album. But it better be good! Behemoth is always a band to look forward too. Looking forward to seeing Judas Priest supported by Megadeth in June, as well as Iron Maiden in July - I can't wait to see what retro setlist they come up with this time, but I'll be happy as long as it includes "Phantom of the Opera" and "Murders in the Rue Morgue" |
[user_id]27874[/user_id] Favorite Album: I didn't put enough attention on new music to make one choice so I'll just namedrop Chelsea Wolfe, Emptiness, Merkabah (POL), Oxbow, Venenum, Succumb, Funeralium, Celeste, Pyrrhon, Godflesh, Amenra, etc... Best Home-Country Album: Unaussprechlichen Kulten - Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X). They are slowly but steadily carving a great name for themselves in the death metal underground. Since 2017 marked the year I've officially lived more years in Sweden than in Chile, I'll also add Grift - Arvet to this category. Lovely folk/black metal with a gloomy yet charming melancholia to it. Most Played Song: Oxbow - Cold & Well-Lit Place. I simply can not get enough of this track. So desperate and sincere. Most Promising Band: Venenum. Hope their debut will make more people check them out! Best Concert: Roadburn brought the goods with Dälek, Gnaw Their Tongues, Zeal And Ardor, Warning, My Dying Bride, Mysticum and Oxbow. Also catching Totalt Jävla Mörker farewell tour in which I made my very first stage dive! Metal Moment Of 2017: Traveling to my home country and meeting Craig at my hometurf! Great chat, beer and completos! Biggest Disappointment: Besides puking some of the best completos I ever bought after so much beer?... I'd say Wolves In The Throne Room dropping the ball with such a forgettable album. Fortunately they still kick ass at concerts. And 2018?: Another year, another Roadburn! Also, if all goes as planned I will finally finish building up my sound system and start listening to my vinyl collection. |
[user_id]156842[/user_id] Favorite Album: Wormwood - Ghostlands - Wounds From A Bleeding Earth, full list of 2017's favourites here. Best Home-Country Album: Kawir - Exilasmos, followed closely by Nergal - Νύκτα Γεμάτη Θάματα - Νύκτα Σπαρμένη Μάγια. Most Played Song: Every single song of Ghostlands, Kawir - "Orestes", Venenum - "Trance Of Death Parts I, II & III", Katavasia - "Requiem For The Nocturnal Lover", Wintersun - "Loneliness (Winter)", Mors Principium Est - "Death Is The Beginning". Most Promising Band: Wormwood of course and I expect Venenum to produce more mind-blowing death metal in the future. Best Concert: Didn't attend any big concerts in 2017, but saw some unsigned and promising local bands. Biggest Disappointment: The comments by Greg Mackintosh that Fear Those Who Fear Him might be the last Vallenfyre album. Also, the mediocre releases by legendary death metal bands (Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Morbid Angel, Obituary, Incantation); luckily, Immolation keep producing kick-ass stuff. Metal Moment Of 2017: Becoming official contributor here I guess and having the chance to interview Frost, even though his answers were pretty lame. And 2018?: Firepoweeeeeer!!!! |
[user_id]137742[/user_id] Favorite Album: Katla. - Móðurástin, Ex Eye - Ex Eye and Toby Driver - Madonnawhore Best Home-Country Album: Descend Into Despair - Synaptic Veil Most Played Song: Ulver - So Falls The World and Leprous - From The Flame Most Promising Band: Katla. but there's a lot more metal bands that are gonna produce some great stuff in the future like Tchornobog and Pylar Best Concert: Devin Townsend Project and Riverside at Artmania, Leprous and Nile at Rockstadt Extreme and Spurv and Wolves In The Throne Room at Dark Bombastic Evening Biggest Disappointment: Ne Obliviscaris - Urn Metal Moment Of 2017: The heavy rain during Nile's set and losing my umbrella in the mud after the pit during August Burns Red's set. Watching bands perform at DBE while in a hot pool. And 2018?: Hopefully start writing reviews and generally doing more for this website. Also lotsa concerts. |
[user_id]40573[/user_id] Favorite Album: Au-Dessus - End Of Chapter Best Home-Country Album: Hundredth - Rare Most Played Song: Rosetta - "King Ivory Tower" Most Promising Band: Sunrot, Redshift Pilots, Another Heaven Best Concert: Fates Warning Biggest Disappointment: Amia Venera Landscape M.I.A. Metal Moment Of 2017: Albums from Slowdive, Lvmen, Lento, Falloch And 2018?: Looking forward to (possible) new Coroner, Lantlôs, Enochian Theory, Dirge |
| Written on 21.01.2018 by Former boss lady. Now just a professional concertgoer... dangerously armed with a camera! |
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