HEAVIÖSITY: A Look Back At Two Thousand Sucks-teen
It feels like I was just working on HEAVIÖSITY’s 2015 year-end wrap-up, and lamenting the losses of Motörhead’s Lemmy and Phil “Philthy Animal” Taylor, and the overall rough state of things (mass shootings, racism, sexism…). I wrote something to the effect of, “may 2016 be heavier on metal, and lighter on bad news.” Well, 2016 made last year feel like a fucking pizza party with bottomless pitchers of beer and KISS’s Alive! on repeat.
This year sucked. And it all started with the death of David Bowie way back in January—fuck, I bummed myself out just typing that. We lost a lot of great ones: George Martin, Merle Haggard, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Sharon Jones, former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza, Gene Wilder, Alan Vega, Phife Dawg, and most recently the brilliant and underrated pop star George Michael. Gun violence and ignorance continue to divide us, exacerbated by a brutal election cycle that left us with an ignorant, thin-skinned dolt for a president-elect.
Writing and music—two things in which I’ve always found solace—seemed silly and insignificant at times. But art and escapism are hugely important in keeping us sane and strong, and being able to express myself through words helps me make sense of it all. We’ll need these things as we fight to make the world and our communities a better place for everyone.
This year I often retreated to old classics for comfort (Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols was a savior), while still taking in a good amount of new music. The year in metal did not suck, although it didn’t exactly blow me way, either. My list is made up of records that effortlessly remained in rotation overt he course of the year—I typically followed my gut over my gray matter.
Interestingly, metal has grown to the point where it’s become less of a shared experience, evidenced by the number of contrasting year-end lists in 2016. But unlike with news, a growing number of outlets doesn’t lead to misinformation, only to more assholes with opinions. Well, here’s this asshole’s opinion. And may 2017 be…ahhh never mind.
20. Mantar – Ode to the Flame (Nuclear Blast)
This German two-piece continues to rip, chug and grind through their second album, bringing elements of thrash, punk and death metal to their bloody brew.
19. Blood Incantation – Starspawn (Dark Descent)
Death metal done right—murky, epic, frightening—and, thank dark overlord, not overwrought. The debut from these Colorado grinders takes off into deep space, and the loudness is deafening.
18. SubRosa – For This We Fought the Battle of Ages (Profound Lore) With the exception of Eight Bells and Worm Ouroboros, no one released a more elegant yet vicious collection of songs this year. Captivating, commanding, and flawlessly crafted from front to back.
17. Darkthrone – Arctic Thunder (Peaceville)
Seventeen albums in and these Norwegian black metal legends still deliver cindered thrash that is hostile but still approachable.
16. Martyrdöd – List (Southern Lord)
I don’t like crust punk. Or d-beat. And while Martyrdöd rose from those scenes, the Swedish quartet takes it to dynamic new places with riffs that’ll lodge themselves right into your thick skull.
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