OK, so during the past 10 years I have been a huge fan of Nagelfar (the underground BM band from Germany, not to be confused with the Swedish BM band Naglfar). Over the course of those many years, I heard of a band called the Ruins of Beverast, which was started by a member of Nagelfar after Nagelfar split-up. Though I knew of the Ruins of Beverast for many countless years, it wasn't until the last year or so that I really started to check TRoB out.

During the past 6+ months, however, TRoB has become one of my favorite bands; as a matter of fact, the Ruins of Beverast has quickly become one of my favorite metal bands of all-time since then. Displayed below are three of my absolute favorite compositions by the band. I will give a brief description for each piece.

This piece, though it is very much BM, leans heavily on its doom metal aspects. The parts from 0:50-1:52 very much represent some of my absolute favorite metal parts ever (alongside the reiterations of such contained in the track). Though the production of this track and the overall album are indubitably mired in deliberate inaccessibility (as is typical of the best of BM), it still without question summons the greatest elements of metal in its delivery. The samples and lyrical elements contained herein certainly contain esoteric ingredients which are typical to the best of metal, but which obviously do indeed necessarily require many aspects of perception which will clearly be lost upon the less initiated of Hessians. Nonetheless, this elite composition of esoteric metal ranks amongst such practically unparalleled classics as Det som en gang var.



Below there exists yet another masterpiece of doomy BM. Though it might seem imperceptible at times, this composition is most remarkable in my mind for the extent to which it brings an entirely unique perspective to diSEMBOWELMENT's "Your Prophetic Throne of Ivory" (one of metal's undeniable masterpieces):



The composition below is quite unlike the two displayed above, but it nonetheless brings forth an admirable spark of originality to metal and also emphasizes the dramatic aspects contained in metal's general aesthetic framework:



Please do the same with three pieces (more or less) from your favorite band during the past 12 or so months. Thank you very much.

Did you just refer to metalheads as 'Hessians'?

My favourite band over the last 4 years has been the gathering. Some people on here know how obsessed I am. Got all their material on CD, DVD and Vinyl, and got thirteen t-shirt designs. I listen to them more than anyone else by a long way. There aren't many days that I don't listen to either them, or Anneke's solo stuff or both. Most bands, if I listen to an album more than a few times in a short time I get burned out on them pretty quickly, but that never happens with them, I can listen to them over and over, and still feel the same magic I always did.

I guess other than that, the artists I've been enjoying the most this year have been: the 3rd and the mortal, Devin Townsend, Anathema, Tiamat and Dead Can Dance.

Would probably say that I've been enjoying Devin the most, as I already listened to the others to a larger extent before this year. I'd only heard Epicloud and Addicted before, and that was mainly because of Anneke Van Giersbergen being on them. They're still my favourite ones by him, but I've been getting more and more of his albums, now got: Ocean Machine, Terrria, Accelerated Evolution, ZTO, Ki, Deconstruction, Ghost and the by a thread boxset (on order). Out of those I'd say Ki might be my favourite. I really like Ocean Machine, but some of the tracks seem weaker than others.

Ever since January I've REALLY gotten into Running Wild. I've had Port Royal for a few years now, but it wasn't until I got Death or Glory late December that I really started appreciating them. And well, now I'd consider every single one of their releases between '84 and '94 a personal favourite.

Sometime I wish I could forget all about this band and be taken back to the time when I first listened to Black hand inn or Conquistadores, and do what I did back then : listenning to them 100 times a day...

Well, over the past few month I discovered a lot of new music but I think my favourites of the last year are Death, Megadeth, Toxik and most recently Polluted Inheritance. But there's so much more. Hard to choose.

Cool thread! Kind of tough for me to come up with just one as there have been a bunch of bands I've come across in the past year or so that I've really taken a liking to. So, let's go with Taake. I realize that lots of people already know about them, but this post is more targeted toward people who either haven't really gotten much into black metal or who, like me, overlooked this band for whatever reason.

Taake are a very popular black metal band, and I've known about them for years now, but for some reason I had it in my head that they weren't really all that exciting. I don't know what material I heard when first checking them out (it might've been something more obscure, from a split or something like that) but for the longest time I just sort of mentally lumped the band together with stuff like 1349 and Dark Funeral and other popular, aggressive, blast-heavy black metal that didn't really interest me all that much. Turns out I'm an utter idiot, as the band plays in a distinctly Norwegian style of course but Hoest has a phenomenal sense of grandeur and melody that reminds me of Hades in some ways but is even better than that.

The first track that really grabbed me and convinced me that this band was not only worth giving a deeper listen but perhaps really top-tier stuff that I regretted missing out on for so long was "Vid VII" from the debut album. After a ripping, headbanging bit of aggressive goodness to kick things off, the song morphs into a majestic, grandiose piece of romantic black metal perfection. The vocal performance is utterly brilliant, the drums are sheer perfection and the way the riff shifts so that the guitars become this sort of shimmery textural element while the bass becomes the melodic lead is just...too much for words. This song has swiftly moved up the ranks for me and has become one of my all-time favorites.


While the debut was a masterpiece, especially that epic closing piece, I think I was even more blown away by the band's third outing, Hordaland Doedskvad. The whole album essentially builds on the style of "Vid VII" for 50 minutes of unadulterated black metal goodness.


The most impressive thing is that Hoest is still active, and recent material, while maybe a little more polished production-wise, is still really good shit. The opening track on the most recent album has a dead simple main riff melody that's simply magical.


If this thread lives on and people forget about my post maybe I'll make another one with a band that perhaps not everyone has already heard

I have no idea when I got into Sabaton...must've been right at the end of 2012...but as I've stated elsewhere, clearly my current runaway favorite. So I guess for 2013...

Sabaton
Civil War
Ex Deo
God Dethroned (last 2)
Havok
Paragon
Hail of Bullets
Sulphur Aeon
Rebellion
U.D.O.
Newsted

Non metal: really dug into The Killers' "Battle Born" a year late and Frank Turner's solo albums.

Megadeth has killed me with how awful "Super Collider" was. Burned me on MegaDave pretty badly. I really liked the last 4.

This is the first I've heard of Taake, but it actually sounds pretty good! I keep seeing Noregs Vaapen in the local f.y.e. but not picking it up out of the same sort of apprehension you talk about, but after listening to this I think I'll go ahead and buy it. I love the chunky, not-entirely-focused-on-tremolo riffs approach to it - the really punchy drum beat with the twangy leads around the 90-second mark reminds me of Furdidurke a lot, which is good.

I was pretty obsessed with Epicardiectomy earlier in the year, so I guess they're worth an honorable mention, but they're mood music when you get down to it and plus I've already written a <3,000-word review on how great they are. So I think I'll devote this post to what's technically not a band, but a split release - a split release of two bands that has grabbed me by the balls and doesn't let go for a single second of its half-hour running time. I'm referring to the Tukaaria/Odz Manouk split released on Rhinocervs way back in 2011, which I somehow only discovered in the past three months or so.


I don't think you can properly grasp just how good each of these bands are until you actually listen to them and take note of the firm and uncompromising ass-kicking they deliver. I don't really want to say too much about it here, because I plan on reviewing this album soon and having to repeat myself would be dreadfully boring, but essentially: both bands play reverb-laden, beautiful, atmospheric black metal with a relatively similar sound, but each of the two goes about reaching said atmosphere in an entirely different manner. Tukaaria aim for extremely fast-paced music dominated by weightless, flittery pieces of tremolo leads, meanwhile Odz Manouk capture more of a general "epic" sound, are more malevolent-sounding, use a lot more bottom end, and throw in a bit more slow crawling riffs to drive their point home. Both of them are extremely, extremely masterful songwriters, with the sense of tension and release in songs like "Suspensions" being practically addicting, and the songs all keeping you on their toes despite the fact that most of them breach the five-minute mark in length.

I think it's worth noting that my favorite side of this split changes just about every time I listen to it, which is part of why I like it so much - each band is great, but it never feels like a chore to listen through the other side of the split to get to what you want. I haven't known this album for long enough to say, but I can easily see it becoming a 100% album for me if I give it more time to sink in; and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to any extreme metal fan I came across, as the relatively low-profile release (merely two pressings, probably limited to fewer than 300 copies all together on a dinky tape label from California that comparatively few people have even heard of) is an absolute disservice to how much sheer talent is on display here. I could go on, but as I've said, I'm trying to save some of my enthusiasm for a review of this material. I think that, for now, the music I've linked here speaks for itself.

I never could get into Taake. It's grand, riff-centric black metal with a good sense of melody, but lacks something to hold a place in memory.


My favorite band earlier this year and the last was/is Swarrrm, almost to the point of obsession. Basically "avant-garde" grindcore such as Discordance Axis with influences from japanese screamo such as Envy, but it doesn't really sounds like grindcore in the traditional sense, the riffing often sounds odly mournful and melodic, the vocalist growls and cries and screams like a madman, and the songs are full of twists and turns so it never settles into one particular mood. The band enjoys toying with polar spectrums, the music is chaotic and relentless but also has some beauty to it.

I'm not good at explaining why I like the music I like, Swarrrm even more so because it stems much more from a gut feeling rather than an intellectual appreciation of the sound itself. Swarrrm doesn't have the more straightforward anger and fury of grind bands nor the melancholy of screamo, rather it lashes out all over the place in insane, self-destructive, hateful and bitter nervous breakdown

Newsted's "Heavy Metal Music" has hardly left my metal rotation, and has become a personal favorite pretty quick. I've aolso been finding myself really loving 80's Sabbath for a while now. I've also sorta re-discovered how awesome Sodom is.

The three bands that have really captured my attention over the last year have been Ghost, Shining, and Opeth. Ghost in particular have become one of my favorite bands since Infestissumam was put out back in April. As for Shining, I'm not into them as fanatically as I am Ghost since I'm not too much into their early material, but The Eerie Cold onward (especially Halmstad and Redefining Darknees) I could not do without. When it comes to Opeth, I had already been a pretty decent fan of their's, but something about their music just clicked with me since the start of 2013. In an even bigger example of that, Martin Lopez has become a major current influence on my drumming, in particular whenever he grooves out in a song.

You know, sometimes I wonder why everyone isn't listening to Taake all the time? It just seems illogical not to.

I've listened to exactly one Taake song, and I don't even remember what it was called. All I remember is that it had banjo in it.

"Myr" from the newest album...?

or track 3 on Over Bjoergvin Graater Himmerik, BOOOIIIINNNGGG

Every now and then i'll play one of their albums and really enjoy it, and then just forget about them for like 6 months. Not sure I've even heard the latest, but the first tw are great

Yeah, it was that. I remember from the cover art.

...honestly, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Agalloch have been dominating my ears

hey, there's no problem here. I actually like the song 'Catholic School Girls Rule'
I've got it saved in my favorites on my YouTube account

It's strange, because I don't like the Chili Peppers much when it comes to studio work, but their live performances are some of my favorites of all time. This one, in particular:

Disbanded. It was Akercocke. Voices (the band formed by former Akercocke members) however sounds incredibly promising, their album (released this year) kicks ass.

Akercocke is fucking sick, love all of their stuff. I own a copy of Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone

Have a go at Voices, man. You can tell there's a strong Akercocke influence but it adds a few new things. There's a tad less death metal but a little more experimentation. Pretty fun.

Yeah, I heard it, it was a bit different but still cool. It's good that David Grey hasn't quit doing music, because he really is a good and unique drummer

Gris, and i just can't seem to get enough of Hypothermia

Not a band but a genre, OSDM is all i've been listening to this year.

I go through phases pretty fast and just listen to whatever I feel like for as long as I feel like. But in the past year no band has had a bigger effect on me than Alice in Chains.

I like them because they're pure emotion, nothing else. Their music is pure catharsis. Whether it's pain or rage or sadness, they seem to have it down...they're not the happiest band around by far, even their radio friendly numbers are soaked in a grungey sadness. But they represent real life as it truly is: not utterly hopeless, but always with its problems and turmoils. And AIC never wallow in absolutely helpless despair. They have always represented to me a bitter, cynical but still firmly grounded and fighting band - not one that would go down without a fight, anyway. That's commendable to me.

Here's some of my favorite songs. First this one, probably the best thing they ever wrote, just a great tune that is so uplifting despite being about someone who's hit bottom, so to speak. A powerful song.

Then this one, a despairing and quiet song with some of their best melodies. Very soulful. Also a bit like the above in that it looks up to the sky a bit from a very low place.

And then probably their heaviest ever. A killer metal tune with riffs to die for.

AiC best song (according to me) has to be Over Now. Every time I hear "We pay our debt sometime" I get chills.

Yeah, "Over Now" is a really solid choice of a song. I assume you guys have seen the brilliant AiC MTV Unplugged DVD? The full thing's on YouTube. Pretty phenomenal performance, especially considering they hadn't played a show in 2.5 years at that point, and Layne was clearly getting pretty bad with the heroin (he's wearing gloves the whole show to hide his scars).

saw them open for Anaal Nathrakh last week and thought they were amazing. Didn't know they were former Akercocke members until some drunk Polish people were talking to me in the smoking area afterwards. Bought the album and its really good stuff. Might go see them again in October

Well, during the past year, I'm pretty sure it's:

Not entirely metal: Deftones
Metal: Votum

As for the former, I listened to them out of curiosity at the end of 2012, and been nearly addicted to them ever since. Got 4 albums at this point, Saturday Night Wrist being my favourite, amazing combination of atmosphere and heavy as fuck downtuned riffing.

As for the latter - they had an interesting debut and great second album, but the third one released this year remains my candidate for album of the year this far. Amazing dark, atmospheric prog, going all between very subtle Anathema-like regions to some really heavy, intense riffing.

Besides these two, of course been listening quite a bit to my usual beloved Anathema, Katatonia and Porcupine Tree this year. Also, Steven Wilson solo is noteworthy, his new album is probably my #2 for 2013 this far.

It was tough to think of but I'd have to say Blind Guardian.

I really, really wished I had a favorite band every year, but I find myself so picky, that I stick with the same 10-15 for ever. Every two months, or so, I actually find an album that sounds interesting and fun to listen to, but meh, it always ends up boring the crap out of me.

Every year, Primordial
Golden Void has gotten really high on my list this past year.
Same goes for New Keepers of the Water Towers, though I cranked their first release past two years as well.

Exactly a year ago I started really sitting down and listening to Overkill seriously. A year later, it still continues.

haha, i love it when people on the internet do things like that
so disconnected from the real world

People care about NKotWT? I thought they were pretty underwhelming, I wrote a review for their latest.

I can't really say which band is my favorite this year but Mansion's EP is definitely one of the highlights for me in 2013 and I guess I can like that to my love for the occult rock movement.

I've had Gorguts on constantly in anticipation for the new album. And lately Incantation.

Rebellion. Fucking Rebellion.

The Viking Trilogy is unmatched, the best albums of the genre, period. It's heavy, melodic, catchy, varied... it's just memorable.