Hi all, you're most welcome to this new special episode of Metal Hunters. Special, because today we have a guest.
- Hi!! - OVER THE TOP ROPE!!!
- My guest, Seth, who just came back for the Best of 2016 episode. - Yes, so we're reviewing 2016 as we did last year.
- Yes, using pretty much the same categories. - We'll start with the visual stuff first, then we'll move on to the music.
So, best cover of the year:
- The one from The Zhrine. - Really?
See, we prepared this episode so well that we don't even know the band's name. It's my fault though, I kind of butchered their name.
Zhrine! The cover of their album Unortheta, or something, is an epic charcoal composition of surrealistic art,
reminiscent of the works of Kittelsen (Google him).
A well designed play on light and textures that shows that sometimes a black and white image is enough to evoke fantasies.
Best concept goes to Winter Gate's from Insomnium. It's very well written. The writing is simple but it grabs you,
making the plot a real page turner that you simply cannot put down. The story is told from the point of view of three different narrators, all with their own writing style.
Including a child, that offers a refreshingly naive and innocent perspective on the tale.
Speaking of which, I won't spoil you but the story is about a Viking raid on a deserted village that seems full of treasures.
Although the Vikings can't believe their luck to have found such a treasure trove, they can't help but wonder where everybody is gone.
There's an unnatural vibe about the place, like this gate the Vikings can't open, what lies behind?
More treasure perhaps, or something sinister? It really is a very good story from a very good album.
Another cool concept is The Astonishing from Dream Theater…
- You can't help but mention Dream Theater every time, can you? - No.
Best Interpret of 2016 goes to Steve Hoggarth from Marillion. The band released Fear this year. I didn't listen to all of it.
- Not sure why, as everything I've listened to from that album was pretty good. - Because you're on drugs.
Right you are. Anyway, Steve Hoggarth wins the gong for best interpret thanks to his wonderful yet subtle singing that's always so out of the ordinary.
- Like a good wine, he only gets better with age. - Ah, wine.
- Yes, I hope you're all enjoying Seth's insightful inputs. - I like wine.
Next category: worst video!
I Know « There's Something Going On » from Jorn Lande. Ok… where do we start...Basically it's Jorn Lande looking for his girlfriend who is cheating on him.
It's bad. The actors are bad. The plot is bad, like Jorn Lande arsing around in the woods for no reason.
It doesn't make any sense and it's also very frustrating because, although he's walking with intent for what seems ages, Jorn doesn't actually find the girl.
Maybe if he'd look in the usual places, and not… you know… the forest.
Yeah ! what was he expecting to find in the woods? Anyway, as I said, bad acting, bad plot, random senseless stuff…
At one point Jorn's bird is laying on a bed and her lover is standing there, looking at her like he's going to fuck her rotten…
and he does. It's so bad. What makes it worse is that they tried to do a serious video.
They did, you can tell how much feeling Jorn Lande put into it. He was traumatized.
In the end, it's one of things that's so bad, it's good.
- Now for the best video of the year. - We didn't really find any video that was awesome but…
I chose Knowing from Anderson/Stolt. I find it to be enjoyable to watch. Really matches the music, rambling and deconstructed prog music.
- It's nice and cute. I think you didn't like it… - No… Rambling is the right word.
I can picture them going on the internet, looking for funny gifs. Taking the first 50 they found and made a video from them.
Yes they stuck everything together in Adobe and thought: "The video is done!"
- "It's cool" - "Much better than Jorn Lande's"
They must be using the same drugs. But if you like this kind of humour it's really not that bad…
If you have a favourite video, feel free to put it in the comments.
- Good bye. - Good bye.
Best gig of the year now. Even if we didn't really see any memorable or exciting concerts this year. I still saw good ones.
Amorphis in Paris for example, at Le Petit Bain. Between the quality of Amorphis' new record and their last one, add to that their Live reputation;
we knew we would be in for a good show. Tommy Joutsen was in good voice, easily switching between growls and clean singing. A great concert.
What made it even better was being with some good mates, having a few pints before the gig. Well, I say a few…
So many pints in fact, that the bouncers wouldn't let us in.
- But we still managed to get in thanks to my… er… - Overwhelming charisma?
- Second show now… - Ah Jesus.
Former Queensrÿche singer, Geoff Tate. I wasn't expecting a good show and I was pleasantly surprised.
It took place in the Voodoo Lounge in Dublin, which doesn't always have the best sound but the gig was very good. The sound was nice for a change.
Geoff Tate was very unassuming, which was surprising as I was picturing him to brag and be pedantic a la Blackie Lawless but he wasn't.
His voice was sublime and even though it was an unplugged session
I really enjoyed listening to Queensrÿche classics such as « I Don't Believe In Love » or « Walking In The Shadows ». I had a blast.
No originality for my first pick, I've chosen Blind Guardian.
They played in Dublin with Gloryhammer and as shit as the atmosphere was for Gloryhammer, it was awesome for Blind Guardian.
People had been waiting more than 10 years for them to play in Dublin again and they came up with a great set-list with all the classics.
- You were there too, weren't you? - Uh-uh..
- So say a few words. - Ok… Hi. So, first of all, you liked the gig because you were drunk.
- No. Not true. - You were drunk.
Indeed I was. But that's not the reason why I loved the gig so much. I would have enjoyed it sober as well.
It was an okay concert. It was cool. I was expecting more from Blind Guardian but they played the songs people wanted to hear.
- Like « Bard's Song » or « Imaginations From The Other Side ». - Yeah, the stuff that make people go bonkers.
- If I was drunk it's because of them, I was sober when I got there! - Shhhhh..
So yeah, because they played the classics, people went crazy and that's why the gig was so good.
Let me have that.
Ok now for the topic that will div… NO! Don't put your finger in your beer!
The dividing topic then, most disappointing album of the year. Quite a few to choose from. Devin Townsend's album was disappointing. It's very repetitive.
The two songs pre-released on YouTube « Failures » and « Offer Your Light » are the only two I liked. The rest is superfluous and uninteresting.
- I didn't like the last Sabaton as well. - Ah... that's what I think about all their albums.
For me the most disappointing album was Tsar from Victor Smolski's Almanac.
I first listened to the 2 songs released before the album was out: « Tsar » and « Self-Blinded Eyes ». It's boring.
It's flat. Bland. It's insipid and so clean and calculated that the album has no soul.
Of course, Nuclear Blast published behind the scenes of the fucking album before it was released, where they interviewed the band members and stuff.
Now, I like Andy B. Franck from Brainstorm/Symphorce and David Readman who worked with Adagio and Pink Cream 69
- but they said in the interview this was the best album they've ever done. - You lied!
Yes! Why not say this album cures cancer while you're at it?
They interviewed members of the orchestra in Barcelona who said nice things like "We've never taken part in such a project before"
but really what they should have said is "We've never worked on something this shit, with hairy guys giving us directions like that"
- "Dirty guys too" - Same for the Orden Ogan dude who produced it:
"I have never produced such an amazing album" he said. But as he's smiling you can almost hear him thinking "My God, what a steaming pile of shit that album is".
So yeah I was really disappointed in Almanac this year. They're like those Marvel movies.
In the trailer they always show you these kick ass scenes but when you go see the movie you realise everything else in the movie is dry as shite.
Same for Tsar, two goodish songs and the rest is crap. I'm very disappointed.
Now, let's talk about the best albums by category. First up, heavy Metal.
This year we went off the reservation a bit and picked a band that's not heavy Metal in the classic sense of the term. Myrath.
Or when heavy Metal meets oriental orchestrations. We liked the oriental atmosphere, the voice variations typical of middle-eastern singing,
the solemn chorus adding to the epic mood and lastly the power of the album. Myrath succeeded in not having the oriental theme subjugate the power of heavy Metal.
The album is heavy, high octane, full of life and colours and it's so good.
We didn't care for the lyrics which are a bit cliché.
Maybe it would have been less cringey and more exotic if they'd sung the whole thing in Turkish and not just one song. Still, great album.
Best Thrash album: Decision Day from Sodom. Simply Sodom. The best compliment you can give, really. Sodom doing what Sodom do best.
In the last year I've listened to a lot of Thrash from the US with Death Angel and Testament but only Sodom stuck with me and that's…
- ...because they're Sodom! - Fuck yeah! Pure teutonic thrash Metal,
effective and straight to the point, I like it! Catchy tunes, lyrics easy to sing along to. Once again, a very good album!
Best prog album of the year goes to The Invention Of Knowledge from Anderson/Stolt. We've already mentioned them in the best video category.
It's old school prog, unstructured and complex. Very reminiscent of Yes, especially Close To The Edge.
First, because Anderson is involved but also because you find the same intricacy as you'd find in Yes' work.
Old school but also modern, sound and production are very crisp yet subtle.
What I also like with this album is the feeling you're being told a story and every note and lyric is part of a tale Anderson is trying to tell us.
I haven't read the interviews, I only know that Anderson and Stolt didn't meet to create the album. Instead, they'd send samples to each other.
I wouldn't be surprised if the lyrics came first as it feels like the text is the main element and the music was only added to it.
This album is full of good vibes. There's a feel good factor about it, it's amazing.
Black category now with Harakiri For The Sky. Excellent gloomy black Metal. They're a young band from Austria, founded in 2011 and they already are very classy.
The vibe they give is most striking, elegant black Metal slow and melancholic rather than satanist and evil.
We have classic chords with long bits of piano and if you look at the cover you'll see they're not Mütiilation - wait a minute, I like Mütiilation -
I mean their style is different, pure and white oneiric forms. It is classy.
So much so Achille even bought a t-shirt to show how much he loves them and wears it even if it's one size too big. It's too big.
- But yeah it's beautiful and pure. - Time for death Metal now. Time for VIOLENCE!!!
Best death Metal album goes to Incoming Death from Asphyx.
Right from the first song « Candiru » it is pretty clear that the album will be in your face from start to finish.
Still, it's not as intense as their last album Deathammer, which was really over the top, all album long.
The new album is "quieter" and has a "slower" tempo. Songs like "Wardroid" even have doom bits reminiscent of Candlemass.
Although, rest assured that Asphyx are still very much about death Metal,
albeit very basic with simple riffs, very different from more technical American bands. They remain simple and straight to the point.
As for the unclassifiable rif raf, we've decided to go with Katatonia. As usual the depressive Swedes have come up with a well-crafted harmonious album,
full of pain and very sad things. Weirdly, some bits sounded very oriental, not sure if it was planned or a fluke but it's pretty cool.
Lyrics from Jonas Renkse mostly mention all the sad things he's seen. And here we are.
We, therefore I, chose to add in a new category : the album of the VIOLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENCE!!!
And for this category I chose: The Whole Of The Law by Anaal Nathrakh. I discovered the band only this year, so it is my 2016 discovery I guess.
How can we define the genre? Symphonic black grind..? This is a music which is horribly violent and complex, I'd never listened to something...
- So violent! - Yes, because it is very intense, an incredible cacophony of speed and precision.
I would say it is a very epic ultraviolence.
I'll surely say shit but it sounds like Nile to me, that incredible violence which falls upon you, making you paralyzed and shocked. It's very overwhelming.
Yes, Nile does have very intense tracks that can be oppressive. But here it is so fast, violent, with no break it can be suffocating.
In theory you could think it wouldn't work, that mix of violence and intensity with blast beats and rough,
haunting singing/screams as if the singer was tortured, with a magnificent symphonic chorus the second after,
including what I'd almost like to call "aerial parts" but not really, more like glorious and epic parts. So you could think it wouldn't work but it's working perfectly.
I was really impressed when I heard this music. Wow.
So yeah that was the top of the year, so the top... more of a best of and... For fuck's sake Seth!
- But hey you forgot to talk about the album of the year. - No they don't care, we don't do it.
- What "they don't care"? You cannot skip the album of the year! - We don't have time. I have to go to see Sabaton tonight.
But we don't care about Sabaton it'll only take ten minutes!
- I said NO for fuck sake why are you always pissing me off?! - Shut up! It's obvious they want to know the album of the year!
Now, I didn't want to do this because you know how people are…
"You talk about Harakiri For The Sky, Anaal Nathrakh and then you chose Epica for album of the year.
You're a sellout man, you only chose them because the singer is cute!"
- Shhhh… - You know I'm right and I'm a bit sick of these comments.
- You don't care. - True. I have to say I was surprised I liked this album so much.
I listened to it more by habit than by choice. I mean, years ago I was a big fan of Epica and… let's just say I sort of lost interest.
Epica still uses the same recipe: big symphonic intro, followed by a catchy tune with solid chorus, followed by a song that usually sounds great Live.
Then comes a little ballad with violins and pianos - look how well I can play air piano while holding a pint at the same time -
and the album invariably ends with a big song that last for 10 minutes.
So yeah, from this point of view this album is no different from what they'd done so far.
But the strength of Epica has always been to come up with something new, using the same old recipe. Always the same, yet always different.
This album is different, there are a lot of positives. First, I love the dichotomy of the voices,
between the lyrical opera singing of Simone Simons and the death Metal singing of Mark Jansen.
Fun story, Mark Jansen is a big fan of death Metal in general and Death in particular.
Once, Epica covered « Crystal Mountain » on one of their tour and it was quite amusing to see the bemused faces in the crowd.
Anyway, this album has great symphonic arrangements and, as usual with Epica,
the orchestra is used to the full and not just to have a "released with a true symphonic orchestra" sticker on the album cover.
As for the voices, the two different types of music complement each other very well.
There are nice symphonic parts playing alongside melodic death, even black Metal parts. Rapid riffs, blast beats and the likes. It works well.
It would have been very easy to mess this up but they made it work. The album is a credit to Epica's reputation and music style.
A lot of production also went into it. We could have ended up with another Almanac situation where too much fiddling makes the record worse
but it's not the case here. Some parts give me goosebumps like the beautiful end of "Once Upon A Nightmare".
As I said, I didn't expect to give album of the year to Epica but here I am.
I hope you understand it's not a cop-out. You know I listen to a lot of music and I was positively surprised by this album.
I really loved it and still get as much pleasure every time I listen to it. It makes me happy.
What Seth? What do you want? You want a fight?
Rant time now! I already talked about this on the radio but I decided it would be a good idea to do it here too
because I'm fed up with guys who write disrespectful comments on forums or webzine every time Epica,
or any other band with a female member, release an album.
It's like those bands simply can't release an album without being bombarded with shit comments like
"Simone is so hot!" or "We're gonna feast our eyes on her during the show" and I'm just mentioning the "nice" comments here, they can get much worse.
This always pisses me off and I don't why guys react like this. Are they jealous? Frustrated?
What's even worse is when these guys play the knights in shining armour. If you make a dodgy joke they'll redthumb you and go on about political correctness.
Meanwhile they'll be the first ones to write those sexist comments.
Now, I know metalheads are often broke and Brazzers is not cheap but if they are that frustrated there's always Pornhub, it's free.
There's no place for sexist comments here, we're just here to talk about music.
That's it for me. Album of the year: Epica which released another majestic symphonic heavy Metal masterpiece.
I know Epica have an odd fanbase and their label Nuclear Blast can be a bit soulless and not to every one's liking
but you should really give it a try. I liked it. Who knows, you might like it too.
Lastly I wanted to end with my album Top 10 but Seth vetoed the idea.
Yeah… we'd need a 30 minute video every week to listen to all your top 10's.
True, so no top 10.
- This is it for the Best of 2016. Thank you Seth for coming, did you have fun? - Yes.
Good! You can find Seth on YouTube. She does fuck all but she has her own channel.
- I occasionally do. - I'll add the link in post prod. D'you talk about music?
I talk about music in general, about a lot of dark things: post-punk, indus etc.
I think some people could find it interesting. The videos are in English though, which is good for you lazy arses.
It'll help you practice it! I will also add a link to our best of 2015 vid if you want to watch it again.
I'll see you soon in another video or another podcast and until then, STAY METAL.
Man, that wasn't really cool, because...
First I wanted to do a top 10 but she said no. Not only she said no, but she hit me.
She hit me with her right fist like that. She is totally insane. This is the last time I work with her.
Also she always criticises everything, Sabaton etc... Enough! By the way do you have her phone number? Can I call her?
You know she is sound engineer, right? She usually works by night so she is probably sleeping now.
Hi Seth? It's me, how are you? Do you have a sec?
Oh you were sleeping...
I just wanted to make you listen something you'd like...
So? This is the new Sabaton do you like it???
She hung up. On top of this she really has no sense of humour.
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