Top Eleven of 2019

1) Warforged - I: Voice
    https://warforged.bandcamp.com/
    Truly amazing album by a fairly new unit. On first listen, I really wasn't sure what to make of this album. Giving it a few listens, and spending time to really absorb what was going on, now, you can see where it lands.

2) Abyssal - A beacon in the husk
     https://abyssal-home.bandcamp.com/
     Pushing their trademark cacophony into new areas once more. Now we have a fusion of melody, and dare I say 'post-rock' passages on this album. The lyrical content is just as deep, and illusive as always. I would definitely recommend the lp, to properly enjoy the art, and lyrics.

3) No One Knows What The Dead Think - S/T
     https://nooneknowswhatthedeadthink.bandcamp.com/album/no-one-knows-what-the-dead-think
     Probably about as close to a proper Discordance Axis reunion as we'll ever get. Grindcore played with immaculate precision. Get on it now !

4) False - Portent
    https://gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/album/portent
    Suffocating. Probably the best way to describe their sound. Every open space is used to push more sound forward. The band easily falls into the 'Black Metal' catagory. I would argue that, this is more of a starting point.

5) Anemone Tube & Jarl & Monocube - The hunters in the snow
     https://aufabwegen.bandcamp.com/album/the-hunters-in-the-snow
     A true 'concept album' if ever there was one. This is a fusion of Dark Ambient, Electronica, and Noise. There is an entire story, and explanation on the album title, and what the painting means to the bands involved. Good headphones are a definite must.

6) Obscura - Everything they released
     https://obscura.bandcamp.com/
     One of my all-time favorite bands, since they formed. They have everything you want in progressive technical death metal. My advice, start with Akrosis, and work around from there. Live they are just as awesome as you would expect.

7) Helium Horse Fly - Hollowed
    https://heliumhorsefly.bandcamp.com/
    A fusion of noise-rock, punk, and eerie atmosphere. I would say they are more of a 'mood' thing. If portishead were darker, and more dissonant, you would come to this. A band definitely doing their own thing, on their own terms.

8) Gorevent - Everything they released
     https://bloodcurdlingenterprise.bandcamp.com/album/abnormal-exaggeration
     Masters of brutal slamming metal. Japan once again proves they can bring the slams, and then some. It's complete goresoaked insanity, and nothing less. Tune in, and turn it up !

9) Sunn O))) - Pyroclasts
     https://sunn.bandcamp.com/
     What can possibly be said about these guys ? You either worship at their altar of drone, or hate them with an equal passion. I've seen them live three times, and loved every minute of it. It is as loud as you think, and louder. The air itself is vibrating when they play. When they have Atilla with them, it's all the more brilliant.

10) Brain Blast - Primal Impulse
       https://brainblastofficial.bandcamp.com/
       A fairly new unit in the Tech-Death world. Precise controlled tech exactly as you want it. Truly all killer, and no filler. Whatever they do in the future keep an eye on these guys. The genre may be 'crowded', still, the best surpass the rest.

11) Theologian - Everything they released
       https://annihilvspowerelectronix.bandcamp.com/album/people-are-weak-they-deserve-pain
       Industrial the way it should be done. With album titles like - Finding comfort in overwhelming negativity - you know what you're in for. I liken them to the positive aspects of negative thinking. They have a lengthy catalog to explore. My personal favorite is 'Pain of the saints'.