Gary Hernandez Top 11 of 2019
December 31, 2019
No. 11
Band: Dead Feathers
Album: All is Lost
Year of formation: 2014
Label: Ripple Music
That's right, this top ten list cranks to 11! I didn't review this album for Metal Temple, but I haven't taken them off heavy rotation since I bought it. Vocals like an iced Grace Slick; drums like a snow blind Keith Moon; lyrics like a Gormenghast novel; and groovy riffs like FU MANCHU. I mean jesusgod this band really is an 11. Prime tracks are "With Me," "Cordova," and "Horse and Sands." Buy it and weep.
No. 10
Band: EnChantYa
Album: On Light and Wrath
Year of formation: 2004
Label: Inverse Records
This list wouldn't be complete without at least one Symphonic Metal band to represent the light. "On Light and Wrath" is a lush album replete with tight riffs and sophisticated orchestrations. I keep coming back to this album like some wayward lover, or a savory bag of potato chips. ENCHANTYA captures all the good in the subgenre and ups it by a few degrees. Standout tracks are "The Beginning," "Poet's Tears," and "Alma." Listen and be made whole.
No. 9
Band: Alunah
Album: Violet Hour
Year of formation: 2007
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
When ALUNAH lost their original lead vocalist, I was devastated. When they regrouped and released the "Amber and Gold" EP, I was cautiously optimistic. Then their guitarist left. Another regrouping followed, and then the release of "Violet Hours," featuring tracks like "Hunt," "Unholy Disease," and "Violet." I was thrilled. Cliché time: Against all odds, ALUNAH is back in the saddle again.
No. 8
Band: Frijgard
Album: Chapter Zero
Year of formation: 2009
Label: Art Gates Records
As standalone tracks of solid Blackened Metal or a compelling narrative of modern sci-fi, "Chapter Zero" excels. Massive riffs, exemplar musicians, superior production, FRIJGARD weaponizes it all on this, their sophomore album. Best tracks are "Blurry Horizon," "Crimson Skies," and "Red Lines Crossed." Looking forward to seeing what these lads will unleash next.
No. 7
Band: Fvneral Fvkk
Album: Carnal Confessions
Year of formation: 2017
Label: Solitude Productions
Thematically, FVNERAL FVKK may be on a one way track, but damn the ride is smooth. "Carnal Confessions" douses you in rich, melodious tones of doom accentuated by clear, resonant vocals. The production values are excellent and the musical execution precise. The album tackles ecclesiastical maltreatments, specifically sexual abuses of the clergy. And they do it in such a way that explores the emotive pain and suffering without being gratuitous or exploitive. My favorite tracks are "The Hallowed Leech," "Chapel of Abuse," and "Alone with the Cross."
No. 6
Band: Pijn & Conjurer
Album: Curse These Metal Hands
Year of formation: 2019
Label: Holy Roar Records
PIJN is a three-piece Post Metal band out of Manchester, UK; CONJURER is a four-piece Doom Metal band out of Rugby, UK. PIJN & CONJURER is a collaboration of five of the seven members that make up these bands. There is a great contrast at work in "Curse These Metal Hands," with the band alternating from soothing melodies to crushing waves of metal. I can't say that I'm a CONJURER fan or a PIJN fan, but I certainly am a PIJN & CONJURER fan. Best tracks? There are only four on album, so take your pick, you can't go wrong.
No. 5
Band: Hagzissa
Album: They Ride Along
Year of formation: 2016
Label: Iron Bonehead Productions
It's hard to describe what it is about HAGZISSA that makes them so compelling. Some people say they capture the style of first wave Eastern European Black Metal; others cite their fondness for primitive, ancient magicks; and still others suggest it's the melding of old school Black Metal with a more modern approach. It's probably a bit of all these. Any way you look at it, "They Ride Along" is a remarkable album. Standout tracks are "Moonshine Glance (An Iron Seed in Sour Soil)," "Searing Effigy," "Irrsinnsdimensionen (A Bath Amidst the Wells)," "There, Draw a Circle!" and "They Ride Along on the Howling Winds!"
No. 4
Band: Cold in Berlin
Album: Rituals of Surrender
Year of formation: 2010
Label: New Heavy Sounds
COLD IN BERLIN aren't your typical metal band. In fact, most people wouldn't call them metal at all, but the metal tribe recognizes their own. "Rituals of Surrender" is probably their heaviest release yet. Maya's vocals are as strong and hypnotic as ever and the lyrics are as soul wrenching and authentic as the abyss itself. "The Power," "Dark Days," and "Avalanche" are at the top of my list. The supporting video for "Dark Days" is a stunning.
No. 3
Band: Cult of Sorrow
Album: Invocation of the Lucifer
Year of formation: 2014
Label: Black Doomba Records
With only one EP and two full-length albums behind them, this band is fast on their way to legend status. "Cult of Sorrow" saunters in with Stoner Metal style and abuses everyone in the room with instruments of Doom. "Come Infernal," "Witch Dance," and "Burn" are my go to tracks, but people also rave about "Shaman" and who am I to go against the people. Their previous EP and album were impressive as well, can't wait to see what they offer up next.
No. 2
Band: Wraith
Album: Absolute Power
Year of formation: 2017
Label: Independent
Never have three men rendered so much trauma in under thirty minutes. "Absolute Power," as they say, absolutely corrupts. And so WRAITH, out of the unsuspecting Mid-West of the U.S., crept up and throttled us all with a Black Metal Thrash that is too viscous, too visceral, and too good. "Devil's Hour," "Meaningless Planet," and "Eyes of the Sacred Ram" top my list, though the others are murderous as well.
No. 1
Band: Wolf Blood
Album: II
Year of formation: 2014
Label: Riff Merchant Records
"Wolf Blood II" came out of nowhere, well . . . Duluth, Minnesota which is the last exit before nowhere. From the tsunami inducing drumming to the incredible harmonic vocals to iridium infused riffs, WOLF BLOOD brought it all together in a profoundly heavy album that had to break the decibel meters at the studio. To call out "Lesion," "Slaughterhouse," "Tsunami" as my favorites feels like a betrayal to the other three tracks, but lines and blood must be drawn.
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