There stands one album from 2009 that unites metal-heads everywhere. Young and old, rich and poor, famous and infamous, men and women, cats and dogs, Jesus and Satan can all agree that this album supremely ruled. No, it’s not Mastodon.
It’s…
Viewing the "Loudest 2009" category.
The 5 Loudest Bay Area Albums of 2009: #1
Posted December 18th, 2009 by DS Loudest 2009
#1 – Black Cobra – Chronomega
Our vote for the loudest album of the year, and one that probably needs little introduction, goes to an album made by two friggin’ dudes. It’s hard to believe one guitar player and one drummer make this much noise, but believe it, because Chronomega is fast, fuzzy and loud!
Chrono is 9 tracks of in your face, down-tuned rock and metal. Drawing inspiration perhaps from bands like Motorhead, High on Fire and Southern groove metal in general, Chrono tears out the grooves and riffs along with some gnarly screaming vocals and furious drum beats, in true Cobra fashion. High-energy tracks like Storm Shadow, Glacies En Spiritu and Chronomega are sure to be crowd favorites. Who are we kidding? They’re ALL high energy tracks! A sentiment best summed-up from this show review from Hard Rock Chick:
After probably five failed attempts at seeing local metal duo Black Cobra, I finally made it to a show. Man, had I been missing out. First off, these two guys are loud. It should be illegal for two people to make that much noise with only a drum set, guitar, and screams….at least, that’s the only way it could be made more fun to see. Second, it’s heavy and frantic. Guitarist/vocalist Jason Landrian delivers some sludgy tones while screaming like he’s trying to claw his way out of a garbage disposal. He takes a stance on occasion where he looks like he’s about to run offstage. Drummer Rafael Martinez plays like he’s working out to save his life- shirtless in athletic shorts and sweat dripping everywhere.
Chronomega is available from Southern Lord recordings and a few tracks can be heard on the band’s myspace page. Black Cobra will be playing a few shows to close out 2010, go check ‘em out!
Well, that does it for the Loudest Bay Area Albums of 2009. Many thanks to the Hard Rock Chick and you all out there for recommending some great bands! See you in the pit!
The 5 Loudest Bay Area Albums of 2009: #2
Posted December 17th, 2009 by DS Loudest 2009#2 – Cormorant – Metazoa
One might describe Cormorant as the Bay Area’s “foggy” Opeth. Like their Swedish counterparts, their song writing is epic and varied in acoustic and electric melodies. Their sound is a blend of prog metal, black metal and folk metal, which is melancholy at times and galloping at other times. Metazoa has caught the attention of quite a few places around the web, including some of you out there who have been emailing us and saying, “Check this album out!”
Like the album’s cover art, the lyrics in Metazoa are rich and detailed, painting a bigger picture of the music as a whole. The album’s sound, while coming off as a bit under-produced at times, has quite an impressive background:
Recorded and mixed in January 2009 at Sharkbite Studios by legendary producer Billy Anderson (Neurosis, Mr. Bungle, Eyehategod, Melvins, Sleep, Primordial) and mastered by Justin Weis (Slough Feg, Brocas Helm, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Hammers of Misfortune, Ludicra) at Trakworx Studios, Metazoa sees the band fully come into their own as one of the most creative, innovative heavy metal groups of the new century.
Utilizing stringed instruments, synths and effects; there really are a whole range of influences at play in this album. Like HRC says, “Anyone who can make prog death metal with folk metal and classic rock riffs hidden in there along with some female vocals deserves some kind of award for creativity alone!”
Metazoa is available from Saturine Media in streaming format on metalsucks.net, or from the band’s webstore. Look for Cormorant to be playing shows around the Bay Area in 2010.
Only one spot left in our list! Come back tomorrow to see the band we dubbed the Loudest from the Bay!
The 5 Loudest Bay Area Albums of 2009: #3
Posted December 15th, 2009 by DS Loudest 2009
#3 - Kowloon Walled City – Gambling on the Richter Scale
Something about KWC struck a chord around various metal and rock outlets on the internet this year. Call them rock, call them metal (they will deny being a metal band, despite head-banger attendance at their shows), call them noisy or call them heavy, they are what they are. Kowloon have a great sound that they’ve carved out for themselves with their brand of sludgy “noise-rock”, drawing inspiration from traditional noise-rock bands like Neurosis, Godflesh and Unsane.
Gambling on the Richter Scale, as front man Scott Evans puts it, is an exercise in “pushing sound around”. Slow, down-tuned dual guitars with a heavy bass presence and screaming vocals makes for a very “thick” sounding record. Raw and half-polished production-wise, Gambling embodies the band’s “indie spirit” and reflects the band’s desire to directly connect with fans. This is the only album on our list with no double-bass or guitar solos (in the traditional sense), but as a through-and-through metal-head, I can tell you that you’ll find yourself wanting some more. It’s Loud.
To learn more about these guys, check out the interview we did earlier this year or the Hard Rock Chick’s multi-part live show review. Gambling on the Richter Scale is available in digital format for free or for purchase on vinyl via the band’s webpage.
Only two more albums left in our list! Visit tomorrow to see the band in our #2 spot that several of you recommended!
The 5 Loudest Bay Area Albums of 2009: #4
Posted December 15th, 2009 by DS Loudest 2009
#4 – One Hundred Suns – Beneath the Hooves of Time
Another unsigned band has made it to our list. Don’t let that fool you though – the production and mixing on this album holds up, without sacrificing any brutality. Amidst the sea of retro-rock out there, it’s nice to see some death and black metal punching through the mix. Foregoing the white corpse paint, One Hundred Suns blasts, grinds and growls over melodic guitars and epic song motifs in their sophomore album Beneath the Hooves of Time.
Coming in at only 6 tracks long, Beneath the Hooves of Time manages to unleash ‘Suns arsenal of doom and death quite well. The track Destroyer of Worlds is a 2 and a half minute death metal salvo, while tracks like To Extinguish Into The Earth and Lords of War take the listener on some epic black metal journeys. Mad props to vocalists Iain Deaderick and Kevin Clark – the vocals sound especially screeching, guttural and brutal.
To make a long story short, these guys are fucking good. If there were 45 minutes of music on this album they might have the #1 spot. However, if the band keeps going the way they are, they won’t have anything to worry about in 2010. Check out the band’s myspace page to hear a few tracks from the album.
Come back tomorrow to see the San Francisco band making waves all over the interwebs in our #3 spot!
The 5 Loudest Bay Area Albums of 2009: #5
Posted December 14th, 2009 by DS Loudest 2009After much deliberation, quantification, perspiration and anticipation, it is our pleasure to announce to you our top 5 albums from the year 2009. Helping us out with this list is the undisputed queen of live music reviews, Jamie Harvey a.k.a. the Hard Rock Chick. Each day this week we’ll be presenting a new album that we felt deserved some recognition as being one of the best from the Bay Area in ‘09.
This past year, without a doubt, has been the year of the unsigned and independent label. All of those bands out there trying to make a name for themselves had a great opportunity in ‘09. The “big guns” (Testament, Metallica, Exodus,etc.) all either had albums in ‘08, or are expecting albums in ‘10. This year’s list, perhaps sounding a little unpolished in the studio, contains no less proportion of “heavitude” than other lists you might have come across in the past. With that said, let’s get to the list!
Coming in at #5:
Walken - “Walken”
Screaming, thrashing and melodic, with a touch of hardcore and punk is how one would describe Walken. The band’s self-titled album, released in November, showcases the band’s multi-faceted approach to their loudness. We could go on about all the different styles blended into their music, but the review of their album here is probably the most thorough you will ever read.
We were made aware of Walken recently after they played a few shows in the city with some other up-and-coming Bay Area metal bands, asking the obvious question: “What the hell does Walken mean?” Well, we still don’t know, but their website, www.walkenroll.com, might offer some clues. You’ll notice that when a few of the guys aren’t playing in Walken, they’re playing around town in another well known Bay Area band, Grayceon.
Walken have been constantly creating a unique style of metal for the past 10 years. Walken’s music combines various genres and styles off music resulting in an eclectic blend of metal. Taking heavy bluesy metal paired with classical melodies, Walken creates high energy sporadic songs.
For an unsigned band, Walken seem to have quite a bit figured out. For this we give them a spot in the Bay Area’s Loudest Albums from 2009. You can get a hold of their self-titled album here, from Relapse Records. The band is playing a show with Death Angel and Skinlab on the 18th at Slim’s.
Stay tuned tomorrow to see who comes in at #4!