After a few average to decent months, the stakes were raised considerably in October. There were a ton of great releases this month, and it was difficult to choose both the number one album and the whole list. There were a bunch of CDs that would have easily made the top 5 in most other months, like Kylesa, Daath and Hail Of Bullets. Topping the list this month are Melechesh, returning after a four year absence. A couple of reunited bands; The Crown and Forbidden also made October's best along with critical favorites Intronaut and Slough Feg.
1. Melechesh - 'The Epigenesis' (Nuclear Blast)
Nuclear Blast Records
Melechesh, the masters of Mesopotamian metal, return after a four year absence with The Epigenesis. It builds off the steady foundation of Middle Eastern-tinged black metal the band diligently crafted on Emissaries. Experimenting with song structures and varied tempos keeps the album from stumbling into pretentious babble.
Like every past album, gruff vocals speak tales rich with mystique and mystery, while the traditional Eastern instruments are out in full force. “The Magickan And The Drones” is a slow-burner that lights the fuse to a destructive force led by the unstoppable riffs of Melechesh Ashmedi and Moloch. Being together for almost two decades has really done wonders to their potent chemistry. This is a riff-friendly record, as portrayed by the unstable “Defeating the Giants” and punishing “Ghouls Of Nineveh.”
2. Intronaut - 'Valley Of Smoke' (Century Media)
Century Media Records
Valley of Smoke emphasizes long instrumental passages of progressive rock and free form, slower paced jazz. Clean vocals, lots of guitar melodies, dynamic, fluid bass lines that really remind me of work from greats such as Steve DiGiorgio, and excellent percussion with time changes galore are all over Valley of Smoke.
In short, the musicianship displayed by all members of Intronaut is outstanding, and each instrument is given a chance to shine. As far as progressive metal goes, Valley of Smoke ranks with the best. Any metal that creeps into the sound will undoubtedly garner comparisons to bands such as Tool, and even Rush given the dynamic musicianship, arguably bands that lie outside of what is normally considered metal.
3. Forbidden - 'Omega Wave' (Nuclear Blast)
Nuclear Blast Records
Forbidden has been out of the spotlight for almost 14 years. But with this new release, and their new partnership with Nuclear Blast, the time is right for people to discover and/or rediscover what these thrashers have to offer. The core of the band, consisting of guitarist and founder Craig Locicero, vocalist Russ Anderson and bassist Matt Camacho, is still intact. On Omega Wave, they introduce Steve Smyth (Nevermore, Testament, Dragonlord) and drummer Mark Hernandez (Vio-lence, Defiance, Heathen, Demonica) into the fold.
Anderson is one of the most powerful thrash vocalists in the game today. His gruff vocals are mixed with aggression and melody. What he brings on Omega Wave is a crushing familiarity of intelligent lyrics delivered with forceful bellows. This, along with the distinct and mesmerizing guitar harmonies, was Forbidden’s forté back in the day. Smyth and Locicero’s riffs and leads carry on the familiar Forbidden formula.
4. The Crown - 'Doomsday King' (Century Media)
Century Media Records
Flurries of hellbent riffs ‘n leads make Doomsday King a nonstop thrill ride of old school Swedish metal, while new vocalist Jonas Stalhammar—formerly of Swedeath legends God Macabre—makes his Crown debut with a furious fistful of vengeance, lending his old school metal credibility to the microphone in spades.
Staying relevant in 2010 could have proved challenging for a even a band the caliber of The Crown, but with Doomsday King, this Swedish quintet have proved that they still possess all of the required metal strength and hard rock energy to kick ass, take names and provide thrash-a-holic thrills and chills for years to come. Welcome back, gentlemen, and long live The Crown!
5. Slough Feg - 'The Animals Spirits' (Profound Lore)
Profound Lore Records
The Animal Spirits is quite simply one of, if not THE band’s best effort to date. Again, while most obsessive Slough fans have their own personal preferences—2000’s Down Amongst the Deadmen, for example—what The Animal Spirits does so wonderfully is encompass all of the band’s myriad talents into one cohesive, well-flowing album.
Emotional guitar playing from Scalzi and Angelo Trigali incorporates everything from moving Irish melody—a la Thin Lizzy—to a gritty, streetwise urban vibe reminiscent of early Maiden or even Running Wild. What the album really succeeds at, however, is filtering this through some ace songwriting; a level at which Slough Feg has never truly achieved or operated on before…at least not for quite some time.
