From roughly 2009 onwards of our retrospective metal journey, I’ve had the pleasure of reminiscing about albums I recall first hearing upon their release. Today’s Top 10 is no exception, although it’s hard to believe that all of these albums are now officially a decade old. Seriously, it feels just like yesterday that I was a high schooler, further exploring the depths of all things extreme and underground and immersing myself in these very releases. Where does the time go? I’ll leave my lamentations aside for another day and instead proudly present our Top 10 Metal Albums of 2014.
10. Ripper – Raising the Corpse
By 2014, it had been well over 20 years since Sepultura had released anything worth substance. Having milked the rap metal trend dry, the onetime Brazilian gods reverted to a generic groove-thrash basis, making them sound indistinguishable from the crop of corporate metal that dominated the playlists of SiriusXM’s Liquid Metal. So when Chile’s Ripper burst onto the scene sounding like the second coming of Beneath the Remains, myself and others took notice. Their debut album, Raising the Corpse, is a masterclass in death/thrash savagery circa ’89. Every cut is fast and relentless, packed with mosh-friendly riffage and just a hint of virtuosity à la Sadus. True to their moniker, Ripper ripped, and still do to this day, even though we’ve been waiting on album #3 for 8 years now. Come on guys, what’s the hold up?!
9. Dead Congregation – Promulgation of the Fall
Having established themselves as a force to be reckoned with upon the release of their 2008 debut, Graves of the Archangels, Dead Congregation took us further down the death metal abyss with their sophomore album, Promulgation of the Fall. Expanding upon their now signature dismal, cavernous sound, Dead Congregation continued to dizzy and mystify with the bleakest death metal album of 2014, and one of the bleakest of the ’10s as a whole. The caliber of songwriting and musicianship was easily on par with that of Immolation, Incantation, Morbid Angel, etc., without sounding like a blatant ripoff of any of the above. Needless to say, Dead Congregation’s mark on the genre was only further cemented with Promulgation, leading to a wave of bands in the late ’10s and early ’20s who continue to explore the realms of “dark death metal” to this day…or at least until Dead Congregation choose to release their long-awaited third album sometime this century.
8. Striker – City of Gold
Fukkin’ eh! You don’t need me to tell you what a rich history of hard and heavy music Canada boasts. From the boneheaded rockin’ of Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Mahogany Rush, to the progressive pomp of Rush and Triumph, the bloodthirsty thrash of Razor and Sacrifice, to the futuristic explorations of Voivod and Strapping Young Lad, the Great White North knows a thing or two about keeping it ‘eavy. Striker proudly carried this decades-long tradition into the ’10s, fusing blazing speed (“Underground”, “All for One”) with feelgood rockin’ (“Bad Decisions”, “All I Want”) on their third album, City of Gold. In many ways, one could describe Striker as a “Canadian Enforcer”, and you wouldn’t be off in the slightest. Both bands gave fresh spins on the classic ’80s sound, decades after its heyday. Unsurprisingly, Striker is still killing it today, although they’ve since abandoned their speed/thrash roots. For more on that, click here.
7. Accept – Blind Rage
After shocking the metal masses with an ambitious concept album in 2012’s Stalingrad: Brothers in Death, Accept took things back to basics with their third Mark Tornillo era album, Blind Rage. Modeled in the same vein as their now classic comeback album, Blood of the Nations, Blind Rage is a no nonsense outing of full fledged, iron-clad Teutonic steel. From high speed headbangers (“Stampede”, “Trail of Tears”) and euro battle hymns (“Dying Breed”, “From the Ashes We Rise”) to the obligatory melodic nuggets (“Dark Side of My Heart”), Blind Rage checks off all those classic ’80s Accept boxes. Just half a decade earlier, the thought of Accept without Udo Dirkschneider at the helm was unthinkable. Now, it was not just thinkable, but tangible and thriving.
6. Autopsy – Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves
The Autopsy reunion really fell victim to the “too much, too soon” approach, which is a real shame because their third post-reunion outing, Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves, is as lethal and unhinged as Macabre Eternal (2011) and The Headless Ritual (2013). Yet I never hear anyone praising the cadaver splattering g(l)ory of this affair. From unrelenting gore-nados (“Savagery”, “After the Cutting”, “Teeth of the Shadow Horde”) to suffocating outbursts of death/doom (“The Howling Dead”, “King of Flesh Ripped”, “Deep Crimson Dreaming”), Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves strongly adheres to the age old adage of, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Not that Autopsy needed any fixing, but it would be another 8 years before they returned with 2022’s Morbidity Triumphant.
5. Overkill – White Devil Armory
Those devils in Overkill just don’t know how to slow down, do they? Having reclaimed their nefarious green crown in 2010 with Ironbound, and shocking thrashers with 2012’s The Electric Age, 2014’s White Devil Armory kept the killing streak going. From the opening “Armorist”, listeners know exactly what they’re in store for: devastating riffs, tubular solos, rumbling bass grooves, pummeling double bass drumming, and of course, the signature shrieks of one Mr. Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth. Like the two albums that preceded it, White Devil Armory is an absolute show of force, bursting with mosh pit anthems for days on end. Don’t like it? Tough luck, kid!
4. Triptykon – Melana Chasmata
The latter half of the ’00s into the first half of the ’10s really felt like a renaissance period for extreme metal pioneer Tom G. Warrior. I don’t need to tell you how game changing his ’80s output between Hellhammer and Celtic Frost is. What followed from the late ’80s on ranged from the questionable (Apollyon Sun) to the flat-out ill advised (Celtic Frost’s Cold Lake), which made Celtic Frost’s untimely swansong, Monotheist (2006), all the more shocking. The dark metallic explorations of Monotheist were expanded upon in Warrior’s post-Frost outfit, Triptykon, first with their debut Eparistera Daimones (2010) and then with their sophomore outing, Melana Chasmata. Boasting primal black metal rage, painfully doomy riffage, and a foreboding gothic atmosphere, Melana Chasmata takes everything brilliant about Warrior’s past and repackages it for the future. 10 years on and Warrior has yet to even attempt and top it, although we’re sure he has it in him.
3. Midnight – No Mercy for Mayhem
Am I the only one who, when hearing the title No Mercy for Mayhem, imagines our hooded hero Athenar beheading those Norwegian dorks who typecast black metal for nearly 40 years running with an axe? Mind you, the views expressed on this webzine are solely those of yours truly, but I digress. Having set the bar damn near untouchable with their debut full length, Satanic Royalty (2011), Midnight assaulted headbangers with another outing of high speed, dirty black ‘n’ roll in No Mercy for Mayhem. Whereas most bands use the space in between their first and second album to reflect upon and reevaluate their craft, Athenar simply said, “Nah.” Can you blame him? Motörhead + Venom = pure awesomeness, every single time.
2. Riot – Unleash the Fire
After the tragic passing of Riot founder Mark Reale in 2012, the US metal warriors had one of two options: 1. Call it a day after nearly 40 years of metallic supremacy, or 2. “Shine on through the darkness and the pain.” Lucky for us, Riot chose the latter, the only way they could. Now guided by Reale’s trusty musical cohort of nearly 30 years, bassist/songwriter Don Van Stavern, this new incarnation of Riot continued the Thundersteel-esque majesty of 2011’s Immortal Soul with their 15th studio album, Unleash the Fire. To the shock of many, even with Reale since departed, guitarists Mike Flyntz and newcomer Nick Lee did an incredible job laying down those fiery leads, and new singer Todd Michael Hall handled the vocals like a pro. Admittedly, his delivery lies closest to Thundersteel era screamer Tony Moore, but has proven to shift shape when it comes to the live stage. With Unleash the Fire, Riot continued to cement their legacy as America’s premiere traditional metal band.
- High Spirits – You Are Here
“When the lights go down tonight”, High Spirits will be there, standing proud and tall as the undisputed champs of 2014. Three years after dropping a full blown masterpiece in 2011’s Another Night, heavy metal hitmaker Chris Black did it again with the equally brilliant You Are Here. Just like, Another Night before it, You Are Here boasts the same magic one feels when listening to albums like Boston’s self titled, Van Halen’s self titled, Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak, Def Leppard’s Pyromania, and so forth. It blurs the lines between hard rock and metal, because quite frankly, it isn’t concerned with being hard rock or metal. It’s aim is to craft not songs, but anthems that will last a lifetime, which is exactly what You Are Here does so well. With this in mind, it should be no surprise that it is the greatest metal album of 2014.
Honorable Mentions
- Primordial – Where Greater Men Have Fallen
- Skull Fist – Chasing the Dream
- Slough Feg – Digital Resistance
- Uriah Heep – Outsider
- Vampire – Vampire
I’m high on High Spirits!