The End Time: Best Albums of 2012

duuuuuuuurr. another list. This year I've decided to not look up anything I might've missed, or forced myself to find new things. I'm going with what's come to be, and what I've found. Keep in mind, this is my full length list. An ep/ split/ single/ demo/ whatever list will follow soon. Unknowingly naming this "the end time" last year might be a little too true for you wackos out there in regards to this year.


10.

Revenge - Scum.Collapse.Eradication

A hate crime rolled into an album, Scum. Collapse. Eradication lacks any kind of understanding, compassion, or sympathy. If you've heard a Revenge album before, you've heard 'em all, but don't let that stop you as J. Reed and co-conspirator Vermin have added a nice dose of guitar solos, groove a'la Archgoat, and more vocal pitch shifting than you can shake your spiked leather arm at. A nice (ugly) reprieve from some of the more "arty" black metal.


9.

Sakatat - Bir Devrin Sonu

I was really looking forward to this Turkish trio's full length. Unfortunately, like all the cool bands, they've called a quits following the release of this excellent album. A bit short for my liking, Bir Devrin Sonu is an exceptionally great grind album that's fresh sounding in its varied style, dynamic vocals and impressive riff catalog and great production. P//S Review (Unfortunately my stupid analysis of the album's name is even more stupid as the band's done). Listen here



8.

Knelt Rote - Trespass 


I've been waiting awhile for a good mixture of black metal and grindcore and I think Knelt Rote do it near perfect. Sure, it's a heavier helping of death metal rather than black, but Knelt Rote incorporate the super stale sound of bands like Blasphemy and mix it with harsh noise and elements of grindcore and above all else precision to create a brutal onslaught. Ugly, bestial, and overtly harsh Trespass is solely the product of hate.



7.



Wreck and Reference - Youth

Wreck and Reference craft a dark emotional sound that implements everything from industrial and post-punk to black metal and drone. What I liked most about Youth was its ability to be everything at once; harsh, beautiful, scary, and calm. P//S Review



6.

Column of Heaven - Mission From God

Mission From God doesn't strike me as powerfully as their demo Ecstatically Embracing all that we Habitually Suppress, but it's still pretty fuggin' good. Beyond that Mission from God is a unique effort as every aspect is intriguing and uncomfortable as it's a mash of grindcore, power electronics, bits of death metal and a huge dose of atmosphere. Lyrics, artwork, and of course the music make Mission From God one of the most suffocating things this year. P//S Review



5.



Swans - The Seer

Recently I was redoing my iTunes and was trying to figure out how to categorize all my Swans. I ended up simply tagging their genre as "Swans." I bring it up because what else can I say about this album besides it's Swans? The thing is IMMENSE and absolutely absorbing. Maybe the only band that's been around 30+ years and is running just as strong. Listen here

4.

Cellgraft - 
Cellgraft

Dozer tread like guitars, blazing .30 cal drums and thundering vocals pulsate through Cellgraft's first and final full length Cellgraft. Dangerously infectious and monumental in its beginning, Cellgraft is as heavy as as it is viral. Few grindcore bands understand that perfect mixture of riffage, dynamic vocal delivery and rhythmic manipulation and can wrap it all up with a completely devastatingly low end production like Cellgraft did. P//S Review


3.

Botanist - III: Doom in Bloom

Get it out of your head that one man dulcimer/drum act Botanist is a gimmick; it's not. III: Doom in Bloom is a fitting title as things have slowed down this time and are much more meditative. I like this approach much more and find the harmonies and drum patterns so engrossing. Botanist might be the only metal band I know of to not have guitars and be completely acoustic (and really good too). It comes with a second disc of drum tracks provided by Botanist for other bands to use. Frankly I haven't really bothered with this and pretend it's not part of the release.


2.

Bosse-De-Nage - III

At first I was so-so about III. The first track might be the weakest one, but the second track's 90's alt-rock vibe and build ups really got me going. Much more dynamic than II and really powerful sounding, Bosse-De- Nage continue to expand upon their unique brand of post-black alt rock whatever-whatever black metal. P//S Review



1.

Dephosphorus - 
Night Sky Transform

Whoa baby. While everyone's been oo'ing and ah'ing over last year's Axiom it wasn't until Night Sky Transform that I became absolutely OBSESSED with this band. Grindcore without any boundaries, Night Sky Transform showcases immense songwriting, great lyrics, and an awesome mood. P//S Review





Honorable Mentions

Horders - Fimbulvetr
The Kill - Make 'em Suffer
Nadja - Dagdrøm
Negative Standards - VI-XI
Panopticon - Kentucky
Protestant - Reclamation
Six Brew Bantha - Six Brew Bantha
Violent Restitution - Violent Restitution
Holy Other - Held

Dephosphorus - Night Sky Transform

Without a doubt, grindcore can be a restrictive genre. Any genre could be I guess, but few more than grindcore as its pillars lay in short songs, a hybrid of punk and metal stylings and speed above all else. Some bands have successfully pushed the envelope, yet still retained enough of the zing that allows you to make the jump from Napalm Death to their sound. Examples aren't illusive, nor are they plentiful. Bands like Gridlink, Gride, and thedowngoing are just a few examples of successful innovation in the oft narrow minded world of grindcore. And while those acts are all great, few bands have the ability to become  unrecognizable or rather transcendent of genre;one such act being Greece's Dephosphorus.

Fully cognizant of all the tricks in the book, Dephosphorus need not look to the stars to realize how far ahead in the game they really are. Appetites were whetted with their splits with Wake and Great Falls, but neither can compare to the band's current pinnacle Night Sky Transform.

Foggy, dense, and ponderous, Night Sky Transform finds strength in nearly every facet possible. Songs are well constructed and diverse, from straight grinders like "Cold Omen" to a drawn out dirge like "The Fermi Paradox," Dephosphorus encompass so much in so little. This is the crux of their sound and what makes the album so enjoyable. "Starless" has an infectious groove that has made it my favorite track on the album. Needless to say, like any good album, each track retains a thread, yet reinforces and builds the stitch.

Strained vocals, audible at times, viral at others, compliment the superb guitars well as they highlight the emphasis's and scatter great lyrics like Orthodox incense. Shrouded in references and obscurities, lyrics often hint at grounded issues such as issues of authority or god, but other, more lofty ones such as our place in the Universe and the possibilities of other life and what forces propel us. Thankfully,  the band never comes off pretentious  but rather alluring like a modern Lovecraftian wonder in all things starry and untouchable.

As the album fades, the words "all hail Aurora" are chanted, maybe implying the Roman goddess who brought dawn to the world. Thought of this way, Night Sky Transform plays to change and creation and effectively ushers in one of the most original, powerful and simply awesome sounds in music today.

All hail Dephosphorus.

Wake/Dephosphorus Split 7"

Finding their way into the hearts of the mincing public last year, Wake and Dephosphorus are a natural pairing for this latest split through 7 Degrees Records.

Continuing their full pedal thrust from last year's Leeches, Canada's Wake stick to their style of hardcore gone grind that still wants to slam your teeth into your skull. Throaty buried vocals bark and the band goes from thudding walls of speed to drawn out downtempo breaks. The relatively "safety" of the band doesn't appeal to me as it lacks punch much like Misery Index in their modern incarnation. It's no surprise that Colin Marston of Krallice fame had his hand in mastering their side into a digified slop of heavy grindcore.

Greece's Dephosphorus on the other hand grabbed me immediately. A welcomed change in production affixed with strained, viral like vocals, textured drums and guitars that jumped from grinding lines to His Hero is Gone style riffs makes Dephosphorus's side far superior. For those of you that heard their previous effort Axiom, be thankful that Dephosphorus has done a better job in producing this split material (that snare drum that stuck out on Axiom is long gone). The only downside of their effort is the lack of time to venture into the spacey cosmo stuff that made Axiom such a gem.

In the end the split works. Wake's style owes more to the metal heritage of grindcore whereas Dephosphorus owes more to the stripped down aggressive roots of punk.

7 Degrees Records
Dephosphorus
Wake