As we close out the year, everyone is bemoaning the tumultuous political climate and ever-growing celebrity death toll that 2016 has left us with. Thankfully, we still have music to get us through the rough times, and whether you think that this year was just a rough patch or the dawn of armageddon, 2016 provided us with a plethora of fantastic music to listen to as we dodge the fire and brimstone.
One aspect of 2016’s musical output that I enjoyed was that many seasoned and established groups found ways to reinvent themselves and prove that their respective wells of creativity still aren’t dry.
Of course, we kicked off the year with the passing of David Bowie and the nearly simultaneous release of his final album, Blackstar. The esoteric, psychedelic jazz-rock epic that opens and shares the name of the album is quite possibly the most progressive and certainly the darkest piece of music that Bowie has ever concocted, capturing the twisted psychology of a mind in anticipation of the imminent end. And well the popularity of his last album may have benefited from the media hysteria over his death, I think that this song in particular will stand out from his discography as his swansong, even if its cryptic lyrics and middle eastern melodic themes leave more mystery than closure to the legacy of this legend.
Fortunately, the other mature artists that came out with great releases this year are still alive and breathing, and presumably fit to write new music in the future. Chief among these was The Dear Hunter, who released the final installment of their five-album spanning story that began back in 2006. Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional, released only a year after Act IV, is a clinic on songwriting. I want to focus on just one song but there’s just so many highlights that I can’t. From the goosebump inducing bridge on The Moon/Awake, to the rocking riff on The Most Cursed of Hands/Who Am I, to the stripped down acoustics of Light, this album offers a bit of everything. And how about the hook on Blood? That “I’m a killer” line has been stuck in my head since I first heard it back in September. Not only are the individual songs amazing, but the transitions between songs that keep the album flowing are more thought-out and fluent than anything I’ve heard, making it such a terrific full listen through. Casey Crescenzo’s talent as a songwriter gives The Dear Hunter endless potential, and it’s so exciting to think about where they might go now that the Act series is over.
Radiohead returned after a five year studio silence with their ninth LP, A Moon Shaped Pool, which I have especially grown to appreciate after working it back into my listening this winter, as it fits with the cold grey atmosphere of the season. While a lot of this album is reminiscent of early 2000’s era Radiohead, its distinguishing point is the added levels of orchestration, the obvious point being the opening track, Burn the Witch. Songs like Daydreamer and Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor Rich Man Poor Man Beggar Man Thief, feature fantastically complimentary use of orchestral strings as well, while songs like Desert Island Disk and Identikit are aided by some of Jonny Greenwood’s most interesting guitar work to date.
Radiohead weren’t the only band to break a five-year silence with a new album this year. Another one of my favorites, post-rock titans Explosions in the Sky, released The Wilderness in April. Originally, I was quite disappointed with what were markedly shorter songs that for the most part, didn’t feature Explosions in the Sky’s normal long buildup and climax song structure. Further listening however helped me realized that The Wilderness is maybe the Texas band’s most sonically explorative release yet. The shorter songs allowed them to navigate through a more diverse pallet of atmospheres and emotions throughout the album, well adding more instrumental diversity as well with the further integration of pianos and synths into their music on songs like Disintegration Anxiety and Landing Cliffs, and even foraying into darker, nearly post-metal territory on Logic of a Dream.
Opeth released their 12th album, Sorceress, in September and reminded everyone that although they’re not playing death metal anymore they’re still capable of making heavy music, turning the gain up a bit from their last two more restrained releases, and giving us classic-sounding, riff-based metal tracks like Chrysalis. The most exciting thing about this album is not the production, however. It is Mikael Åkerfeldt’s ever improving singing ability. Since ditching the growls, Åkerfeldt has been becoming more and more confident as a melodic vocalist it seems, and the belts that end each verse on the title track make me excited to see how he continues to further push what has always been one of my favorite singing voices in progressive music. As someone who loved their last record, Pale Communion, I was in the minority of people hoping that they would maintain the soft production and see how far they could take it. Thus, my favorite moment on this album is A Fleeting Glance, where they delve deeper into their psychedelic sound, with verses that sound like an outtake from Abbey Road. Anytime that Opeth releases an album and it's not my album of the year I’ll be a little disappointed, but despite the fact that Åkerfeldt took a step in the direction away from what I was hoping for, I still enjoyed this album immensely. That unpredictability, I suppose, is why they're one of my favorite bands.
Another esteemed progressive metal band, Meshuggah, dropped a solid eighth album entitled The Violent Sleep of Reason. Besides having a sensationally profound title, Meshuggah surprised everyone by recording almost everything on this album live in-studio, a stylistic choice that I love. Every power-chord strumming punk band nowadays is recording each part of their songs piece by piece, and here comes one of the most rhythmically complex bands to ever step into a studio deciding to put a new set of their convoluted polyrhythmic eight-string heavy metal songs on to record live. As soon as you hear the quick hi-hat four count kick-off the record on Clockworks, you feel the palpable live energy that fills this album, and well it’s still distinctively Meshuggah, they’ve shown another effective way that an old band can freshen up their sound.
A number of the experienced bands that I listened to this year were those that I’ve either never listened to or have at least never gotten into. A band that I can’t believe I’ve never listened to is Katatonia, who released their tenth album, The Fall of Hearts, in May. Wow. This was right up my alley. They’re honestly not that progressive, but they do a great job of mixing up traditional verse/chorus song structure into slightly longer quasi-progressive alternative metal tracks, like the songwriting of Porcupine Tree combined with the dark atmosphere of Tool. Songs like Takeover see them at their most progressive, while songs like Old Heart Falls offer a more condensed format with a monumental chorus section. The Night Subscriber is the best testament to their superb song-crafting ability, climaxing with a monstrously dissonant and eerie riff and dropping out into a short, ambient break before returning to the chorus.
Dillinger Escape Plan released their last album, Dissociation, and although I still have a hard time adjusting to DEP’s eccentric style, I found this album very interesting. First off, I love Greg Puciato’s singing voice, and was a really able to get into songs like Symptom of Terminal Illness, despite some of the more hardcore songs never really clicking with me. The jazzy influence on songs like Low Feels Blvd had me very impressed as well. I had my first experience with black metal legend Ihsahns solo work too, with his new album Arktis., a diverse album of experimental metal which includes an absolutely awe-inspiring collaboration with Einar Solberg of Leprous on the final track, Celestial Violence.
Cult of Luna’s new collaborative album with Julie Christmas, Mariner, was another surprise; a concept album about a voyage into space. The opening track on Mariner, A Greater Call, features heavy involvement from both Christmas’s sinister melodic vocals and Johannes Persson’s perfectly Neurosis-esque screams, well Christmas does a fantastic job of handling both the singing and screams on The Wreck of the S.S. Needle. The cosmic theme really does fit Mariner well; not in the typical spacey Pink Floyd kind of way, however. While there are some synth-based ambient moments on this album, the feeling you get is the weight of our infinitesimal position in the universe and the inherent terror of the unknown. The final track, Cygnus, ends on a five-minute gradually cascading layer of synths, belts, and screams over a single repeating sludgey riff, and makes you feels like you’re being ripped apart as you enter a black hole. This is exactly the type of ambitious and unlikely collaboration that I would love to see more veteran bands engage in. You rarely get to hear a female voice in such a heavy and grandiose context, and the pure novelty of those contrasting sounds turns another album by a successful band into a stand out in their discography.
Speaking of female vocals, one of the most encouraging things about this year was the fact that I stumbled upon a number of fantastic female fronted progressive and innovative groups. None of them were brand new artists, so it might just be that I made more of an effort to seek them out, but in either case this is an extremely exciting development.
One of the most exciting finds of the whole year for me was the Boston based band Bent Knee, who offer an anomalous combination of styles on their 2016 album Say So. I’m not sure how well known this band is in progressive circles, but as far as I’m concerned they should be near the top of everyone’s list of bands pushing the boundaries of progressive music. From the very start of Say So, you’re exposed to singer Courtney Swain’s amazingly dynamic and emotive voice on the opener, Black Tar Water. On the next couple tracks, Bent Knee go all over the place from one style to another, filled with off-time violin riffs like the middle of Leak Water, quirky hard rock tracks like Counselor, and a song called EVE featuring a doomy industrial metal riff. And that’s only the first four songs. Halfway through the album and you still have no idea what to expect for the rest, an ambiguity that makes the infectiously catchy sing-along chorus on Hands Up that much better. I also can’t go on without recommending their Live at the Space footage from this year where they play Say So in it’s entirety; one of the best live videos I’ve ever seen.
Continuing the theme of female singers in progressive rock, I was pleasantly surprised to find the Russian piano-centric progressive rock band iamthemorning, who released their third album this year, Lighthouse, featuring virtuosic Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison. The highlight on this album is certainly the title track, which is without a doubt the saddest song of 2016. The piano and vocal minimalism of the first half creates a context of vulnerability for the crushingly beautiful “all of a sudden you’re own your own” outro sequence, featuring a duet with Riverside vocalist Mariusz Duda. The harmony between Duda’s soothingly mellow voice and Marjana Semkina’s angelic highs is enough to bring you to tears. The fact that Duda’s longtime bandmate in Riverside, Piotr Grudziński, tragically passed away in unexpected fashion about a month before the release of this album, only adds to the emotional weight.
Well not a part of the progressive club, Emma Ruth Rundle peaked my interest with her chilling 2016 album Marked for Death. Though her singing style is more in the vein of Tori Amos, her lyrics on songs like Protection have more in common with an early Tool song. Her voice has a certain frailty in it that makes even simple singer-songwriter songs like Real Big Sky incredibly moving. On the other side, the collaborative effort case/lang/veris, with an album of the same name, released a similarly intimate yet adversely bright and warm collection of harmony filled indie/country tracks, featuring three established singers trading off roles song by song. The first song on that album, Atomic Number, is the best example of how their three very distinct and contrasting voices are so beautifully effective in unison.
One of the most interesting releases that I found myself coming back to this year was French jazz vocalist Melanie De Biasio’s 24-minute single song EP, Blackened Cities. This song really doesn’t go anywhere in the conventional sense. Yet, there's something hauntingly captivating about the languid ebb and flow of instruments and textures as they gradually crawl in and out of the picture. This is an epic song, for sure. But it’s a different breed of epic; antithetical to what a progressive rock fanatic like me generally looks for in a long track (and this track is long even for those standards). The dynamic that I usually look for is inverted. The payoff is there. It comes almost twenty minutes in when the drums dissolve away and the piano vanishes in the air, and De Biasio's vocals return to their isolated setting. This EP is challenging the way I look at ambitious songwriting, and I like that.
What De Biasio has also done, in conjunction with a few other artists, is expose me to another interesting variation on jazz music. I've been interested in jazz for a long time but have more or less failed to get into it in any outright sense. In this quest for a type of jazz that suits my tastes, I am fortunate to have happened upon an obscure instrumental jazz-rock band from Poland this year, called Niechęć, who released their self-titled second album in in April. Clearly, the rock aspect of Niechęć's sound is what helps their brand of jazz appeal to me. What I like about Niechęć however, is it seems that they are a band rooted in jazz and drifting into rock territory, and not the other way around. The jazz is ever-present on this album, beginning with a rather dark Saxophone intro on the opening track, Koniec, before escalating into full on King Crimson-esque craziness. Niechęć's sound is most powerful in my opinion, on tracks like Metanol, where a well balanced marriage of jazz and post-rock makes for a uniquely emotive and cinematic piece. In fact, I hear post-rock influences all over this record, as well as a healthy dose of Radiohead electronica. It is worth mentioning too that a Connecticut band named Mid Atlantic Title came out with a promising debut EP this year called Sonic Bloom, which is not unlike Niechec in its balanced combination of jazz and rock, but is much more guitar-centric, and in fact features some fantastic guitar playing. I'll certainly be watching both of these groups.
I got a little more jazz exposure, albeit much less engaging, in the rap duo Epidemic, who released their debut album 4 Dimensions on Paper, an album that predominantly employs jazz samples. This was my favorite rap album of the year, and I really enjoyed the flow of chilled out songs like Space Travelin'. That being said, I feel a bit detached from the rap scene in general. I checked out both Danny Brown's highly acclaimed 2016 release, Atrocity Exhibition, and Anderson.Paak's sort of rap/R&B hybrid Malibu. I liked them both, and Brown's penchant for experimentation and all out weirdness appeals to my progressive interests, but I wasn't really blown away by anything. And although rap isn’t my primary interest, there is some rap that I love. Hopefully, 2017 will offer something better in that department.
More than rap even, I generally feel very detached from the electronic music scene to the extent that its not mixed in with rock music à la Radiohead. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I greatly enjoyed Petrubator’s 2016 album The Uncanny Valley, which I understand is classified as synthwave. I was particularly attracted to the somewhat metal-esque intensity of this album. Tracks like the opener, Neo Tokyo, creates a vividly dark scene with a thick collage of infernal sounds and a relentless hammering beat.
On the other side of non-vocal music, William Tyler’s 2016 album, Modern Country, offers a pallet of glistening summer morning hymns sung through his signature fingerstyle guitar technique. As I see it, this is essentially post-rock played with country guitar stylings. Post-country? I suppose I see the relevance of the album title. Tyler primarily uses electric guitar here, which is unique for a fingerstyle player, yet the Fender-twang cleans are perfectly complementary to the Americana vibe of his music. His use of electric guitar also allows him to push the boundaries of his sound with a liberal use of effects and loops, such as on Highway Anxiety, where he seems to be channeling Robert Fripp as much as Chet Atkins. There is plenty of acoustic guitar scattered through this record too however, and some of my favorite moments are when he layers the acoustic and electric sounds together, exemplified on the fifth track, Gone Clear.
Come to think of it, 2016 was a phenomenal year for guitar players. Australian guitar virtuoso Plini finally came out with his debut LP, Handmade Cities. I adore Plini’s style; his phrasing is the best I’ve ever heard. I usually hate when guitarists rely on the whammy bar, but in cases like the main melody on the title track, Plini uses it extremely effectively as an emotive tool. When I say emotive, I should clarify; the songs on Handmade Cities are euphoric and uplifting. It’s hard not to crack a smile listening to songs like Electric Sunrise, or the slower track, Every Piece Matters. Generally I go into a virtuosic guitar album hoping that the guitarist in question dials their showcase of technical skill back and focuses on using their skill to write good songs. It actually occurred to me that Plini is so humble in his effort to simply make good music on this album that I actually wished he demonstrated his undeniably extraordinary skill a little more frequently. That’s not a knock against this album though. His restraint from showing off in favor of melody is why I love every song on Handmade Cities.
While Plini’s playing style goes unmatched in my book, there’s one virtuosic guitarist who topped him this year in terms of songwriting ability, and that would be Sithu Aye on his 2016 album, Set Course for Andromeda. As I alluded to, Sithu Aye’s songwriting here is fantastically thorough and cohesive. The title track is a great example of the kind of songwriting I want from solo guitar players, as it spans many dynamics while remaining thematically consistent throughout its eight minutes. As the title suggest, the album seems to follow a concept of space travel. The obvious example of great songwriting that I’m going to point out, is the six song medley at the end of the album, entitled The Andromedan, which is magnificently tied together with repeating melodies that are introduced in the first two parts and triumphantly return in at the end. The coolest things about this is the transition of moods that exists within the medley. The first two parts are upbeat and positive, before gradually transitioning into extreme heaviness. Then, on Part V: Rebirth, he leads off with an utterly nefarious atmosphere but gradually converts that melody from a minor to major scale, setting things up perfectly to return to the two glorious melodies from Parts I and II for the grand finale. While not really innovating in the area of technique, Sithu Aye is definitely innovating in the area of instrumental progressive songwriting.
Of course, I would be remiss if i did not mention Animals as Leaders’ newest album, The Madness of Many. The first thing that caught a lot of people’s ears with this album was the track Ectogenesis. I was obsessed with the thumping section in the middle of that song when I first heard it, as Tosin Abasi continues to prove himself as an unmatched innovator on the guitar. This isn’t just the Abasi show, however. My favorite thing about this album, may in fact be Martin Garstka’s impeccable percussion. His quick, groovy and dynamic style is really unlike any drummer I’ve heard and adds such a one-of-a-kind rhythmic dimension to these songs, exemplified on the track Inner Assassins. A more unexpected favorite from The Madness of Many however, was The Brain Dance, a track that features predominantly nylon-string guitar work. One interesting thing I noticed about this album was that it clearly begins with the heaviest, most aggressive tracks and gradually transitions into the softer and more tasteful songs. Bands normally try to begin and end their albums with a bang, but I really enjoyed this alternative approach to the sequencing.
While on the topic of great guitar albums, I found an particularly unlikely favorite this year in Dance Gavin Dance’s album, Mothership. I had never listened to Dance Gavin Dance, and given my general distaste for punk rock and its subgenres, they were not a band that I expected to like. Yet, Dance Gavin Dance’s incorporation of advanced math rock guitar playing into their post-hardcore style had me surprisingly intrigued, and led me to appreciating what is some very original music. The final track on Mothership, Man of the Year, not only features some great guitar work but also a borderline-metal level of heaviness and a massive, epic ending. The song that really jumped out at me however was Young Robot, which is one of the catchiest songs that I’ve ever heard, partly due to the fact that there are about four separate infectious hooks that appear throughout the less than four-minute song. There are some moments on this album that turn me away, but all in all I was really happy to have found this. And in regards to the singer, Tilian Pearson - just wow; that guy can belt like nobody’s business, and the emotion he shows on songs like Deception really carries the song even farther beyond the outstanding guitar work.
Another singer, from a completely different genre, that really impressed me this year was Brendan Mainville of the Canadian rock n’ roll band Mountain Dust, who released their debut album Nine Years in 2016. If I recall correctly, I accidently clicked on the link to their YouTube album stream and before I could click away, was immediately drawn in by the earthshaking bluesy wail that kicks of the opening track, Evil Deeds. Many of the instrumental elements of this album seem rooted in stoner rock, with their slow and heavy riffs. But Mountain Dust really adhere to the bluesy roots of rock music as well, making this much more than a another stoner rock record. Another way in which Mountain Dust impress is their songwriting ability, which I find very progressive. Songs like Dead Queen and Nine Years drudge on over eight and seven minutes respectively, and both feature mammoth endings, especially the title track which just sets the last three minutes of the album on fire. Mountain Dust really capture that passionate 70’s bluesy rock vibe. In fact, while listening to this I’m reminded of a personal old-school favorite, the classic Australian hard rock band Buffalo and their seminal 1973 album Volcanic Rock. That’s high praise.
An artist that captures that old-school feeling even more so is Michael Kiwanuka, who’s rugged bluesy voice induces visions of classic blues singers like Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding. What makes Kiwanuka’s 2016 album, Love & Hate, so great however is the modern influence that he brings to a collection of songs that are so obviously rooted in the greats of yesteryear. I hear Pink Floyd-type psychedelic influences all over this album, and the modern orchestration that circles around the bluesy base of his songs makes this record such a soothingly encompassing listening experience. He really demonstrates a mind for melody on this release too, with songs like the title track and Place I Belong. Another great track, Father’s Child, begins with a Radiohead-sounding piano-based intro, and the closing track, The Final Frame, seems to combine his classic influences with contemporary blues and garage bands like the Black Keys and The White Stripes. Now let’s talk about the opening track, Cold Little Heart, which begins with a beautifully melodic and extended psychedelic intro, before breaking into some absolutely wonderful and classic-sounding blues. It's a bit pointless to say, but I couldn't help but think that if this song had been released in 1970, everyone would consider it once of the greatest rock songs of all time. The songwriting here is just superb. The track stretches nearly ten minutes long, yet its length doesn’t come from some drawn-out bluesy solo section as you might expect. Instead, Kiwanuka incorporates sophisticated songwriting techniques, such as bringing back the guitar melody from the intro as the vocal melody for the outro-bridge sequence, where he sings a gorgeously profound yet straightforward set of lyrics: “Maybe this time I can be strong / But since I know who I am I'm probably wrong / Maybe this time I can go far / But thinking about where I've been ain't helping me start”. Its this kind of simple yet genius approach to songcraft that makes Kiwanuka such an exciting up-and-coming artist for those who love blues rock.
One artist in 2016 however made throwbacks to the seventies seem dull in comparison to his evocation of pre-antebellum slave music. Zeal and Ardor’s Devil is Fine EP takes home the that-shouldn’t-work-but-it-does award for the year, with his peculiar amalgamation of proto-blues spirituals and black metal. Yes, you heard that right. What sounds like an awful, gimmicky idea on paper works out surprisingly well on this short release. The reason it works so well is because he’s not just a black metal musician giving a shot at spirituals. If anything, the black metal parts are the weak point here. Not that they’re bad; I’m honestly just not too much of a fan of black metal. The spirituals are actually done so well that I initially assumed they were samples of some very old recording. But no, that’s all Zeal and Ardor. And so my favorite track on here is the title track, which is the only spiritual based track to not feature any of the metal. His recreation of American slave music is so full of emotion and power. I do think the black metal really works contrasted against it though, and a song like Blood in the River really demonstrates the unique intensity that that contrast generates. I really think that if he continues refining this blend of styles, and gets rid of some of the rather pointless hip hop/electronica filler tracks, he may have a masterpiece of avant-garde music in his sights.
Though it’s true I’m not a fan of black metal, there were a number of partly black metal releases this year that brought me a little closer to the genre. First off was Oransi Pazuzu’s album, Värähtelijä, which very successfully attempts to create dark psychedelic landscapes through a black metal medium. Besides the sparse screaming vocals on this release, I probably would never have associated this with black metal if I hadn’t seen that label beforehand. A lot of the music on here is slower and more reminiscent of doom metal in my opinion. The over 17-minute long Vasemman käden hierarkia, centered around a repetitive riff, uses psychedelic textures and landscapes to progress the song, making me think of droning post-rock bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor more than black metal.
There was a lot of talk this year about Terminal Redux, the third studio album by Vektor, who play an amped up and technical style of thrash metal with black metal-type vocals. And for sure, this is one of the best thrash metal albums I’ve ever heard. As was the trend with a number of other releases this year, this album follows some sort of space odyssey concept, and the lyrics are very engaging. But the central focus of this album is the absolute craziness of the music. Thrash is a genre that I had more or less become disinterested in, but Vektor’s forward-thinking and utterly berserk approach to riff writing is quickly changing my mind. The riffs on Cygnus Terminal somehow retain the maximum aggression of thrash while packing loads of emotion too. The closing epic, Recharging the Void, serves as a dynamic and grandiose curtain closer to this militant galactic fantasy.
Departing ever further from the caustic screeches and forthright masculinity, we have what is the most uplifting release to ever be associated within the realms of thrash and black metal, with the Boston based Astronoid’s first full-length, Air. If you watched this band play their instruments without the sound you would assume that they’re some sort of high-speed metal band; and you’d be right. But you would never guess what it actually sounds like. Self-described as “dream thrash”, Astronoid make some of the most positive and upbeat music of the year. Many bands have had their go at “happy metal’, but they usually come off as cheesy. On Air, Astronoid create a majestic melodic soundscape using thrash techniques, post-rock layerings, and dream pop vocals. From the moment the guitars hit on the opening track, Incandescent, you’re elevated into a new dimension. They’re really not doing anything too special with the song structures here, as a song like Up and Atom begins with a catchy riff and then employs a relatively simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure. But the atmosphere that they create is so original it doesn’t matter. In fact, relying on great vocal hooks and melodies to carry a lot of these songs, in a mismatch of genres that don’t usually focus on that, is what paradoxically makes them such an innovative band. One of my favorite moments on the album is the grand vocal-centric climax to Obsolete. There are so many favorite moments though, as from the first notes of the album to the divinely powerful conclusion to Trail of Sulfur fifty-minutes later, Astronoid offer one of the most consistently high quality releases of the year. Astronoid is a shining light amidst the dark, bleak and violent aesthetics portrayed by the vast majority of metal bands out there, and that genre-defying separation is why I found Air to be one of the most compelling releases of the year.
Well not necessarily uplifting, another band that used heavy music to create a transcendent, otherworldly aura was the post-metal band Latitudes. Old Sunlight, released in January, features a mesmerizing array of riffs and melodies in what is one of the most interesting takes on post-metal that I have heard. The instrumental genres often get the word ‘cinematic’ thrown at them simply because of the lack or infrequency of words. Yet, Old Sunlight deserves that adjective more than any album I’ve heard. Latitudes just has a brilliant way of tieing their songs together with magnificent melodic riffs and themes. Body Within a Body, is divided in its heaviness by an extremely quiet organ and vocal section, before the heavy riffs come exploding back into the picture. Those dynamics are all over the album. The opening track, Ordalian, is concluded with a segment of crushing sludge metal while the last real song on the album, Altarpieces, breaks into a beautiful guitar harmony before returning to its main theme. What I like the most about Latitudes sound is that they use really sludgy tones and aesthetics, but play with a somewhat black-esque tremolo picking style for many of their riffs. I also love the fill-heavy and chaotic drum work. This sort of frantic yet melodic take on the atmospheric sludge trend is incredibly refreshing.
The reason I love sludge metal is because the slow droning riffs that make up the genre have always felt heavier to me than bands that try and play as fast as possible. And so by those standards Sumac’s 2016 release, What One Becomes, may very well be the heaviest album I have ever heard. Those who are familiar with the 2000’s era post-metal band ISIS know that Aaron Turner is a man with a musical vision. The sprawling cinematic atmospheres of his material with ISIS, contrasted against sludgy droning guitars, pioneered a new type of metal. The depth of their music challenged the listener to think beyond heaviness. With Sumac, Turner has abandoned that depth entirely. His vision, while still just as focused as it was with ISIS, has taken a complete 180 degree turn into unapologetic and unrelenting heaviness. In every way that ISIS was the anti-metal, SUMAC is the metal archetype: stripped to the core, belligerent, anarchic; this is the sound of a band rediscovering how the amalgamation of grimy distorted guitars and the ruthless hammering of a drum kit can appeal to the inner-primate in all of us. While every aspect of this album bleeds heaviness, its is not merely the riffs or the growls that make it so much heavier than your typical sludge metal album. What makes What One Becomes so heavy is the absolutely uncompromising commitment to their barbaric persona, from the amelodic storm of noise the begins the first track, Image of Control, to the bare-bones war march intro of the 17+ minute track Blackout.
It seems as if sludge has really gained a lot of popularity in the past decade or so, especially within the progressive music community. Of course, the leaders of that rise in popularity have been Mastodon, as their unique variation of sludge has propelled them beyond popularity in those sub-genres and into mainstream metal stardom. Something I've noticed in this year particularly, is an uncanny wave of new bands inspired and expanding upon the marriage between progressive rock and sludge metal that Mastodon have pioneered.
Of those several up and coming bands that I discovered this year, Black Peaks, who released their debut album Statues, are the least sludgey while possibly being the most 'Mastodony', which isn't a surprise as I always thought that Mastodon's overall allegiance to sludge was overplayed relative to their equally observable basis in thrash and more fast paced denominations of metal. While Black Peaks have a distinct sound that seems to also channel a bit of Dillinger Escape Plan, a lot of their riffs sound like Brent Hinds (Mastodon guitarist) guest appearances. And that's not a bad thing! What separates them mostly from Mastodon is their tangible post-hardcore influence, most apparent in their singer, Will Gardner, who puts on one of the vocal performances of the year. He has a fantastically unique melodic voice and a great falsetto, as shown in the song Saviour. Yet, what blew me away more than anything is his rare ability to execute complex pitched screams, a technique that manifests itself most directly in the track Say You Will. While the weakness for a lot of Mastodon inspired bands (and Mastodon themselves to a degree) are the vocals, Black Peaks are taking that prog-sludge blueprint and adding a steal-the-show singer, which adds an important emotional overtone to that turbulent style of metal.
I haven't heard anyone talking about Terminus' debut album, Safe Travels, See You Never, but it has to be one of my favorite debut releases this year. This record isn't too Mastodon influenced I suppose, but the clean acid-rock parts in between the heaviness, such as the beginning of Dead Head, reminds me of Mastodon, and their progressive approach to stoner rock sounds similar to what Mastodon have been doing recently except a little better, in my opinion. The big selling point here though is that this album is just stacked with riffs. It seems like every song has a couple great riffs on it. And while their songwriting is very progressive, their tone is totally classic; you'd think you're listening to a Sabbath record until the vocals kick in. They partially achieve this tone by using 12-string Gretsch guitars throughout the record. In the era of 8-string headless guitars, I love that stylistic choice, and it actually has a very distinct impact on their sound, exemplified on the riff halfway into Set the Table. Distinct is a great word for this band. What makes them more distinct is the high pitched vocals, which fall somewhere between Rush and The Mars Volta. They take some getting used to, but I don't think there's any denying that the vocals on a song like Lull are superbly fitting once you get accustomed to them. Most importantly, the vocals make Terminus really stand out from other bands. Another thing worth mentioning is that bass plays a huge role on this album, and has a great gainy tone, which contrasts perfectly against the chorusey-sound of the 12-string guitars. I don't know why, maybe it’s the trippy album cover, the 12-strings or the vocals, but this album gives me huge 60's psychedelia vibes. Whatever it is, I have really high hopes for this band. A lot of groups show moments of greatness on their debut and get me excited; this album was so solid through and through and had so many great riffs that it makes me giddy to think what they might do next.
Mastodon's biggest contemporary in the prog sludge revolution has been their fellow Georgians, Baroness, who were just recently nominated for their first grammy, further showing how far sludge has reached into the mainstream. I had heard people comparing Moon Tooth's debut album, Chromaparagon, to Mastodon, and while I don't disagree, I think they're much more comparable to Baroness with their fuzzed out Hendrix-worship guitar riffs and their rock n' roll spirit. Moon Tooth has two advantages over Baroness however. One is that whereas Baroness have a guitar-player who sings, Moon Tooth have a great front man with much more vocal capabilities and a truly unique voice to boot. When his vocals kick in on the head-bang inducing track Igneous for example, the songs goes from 10 to 11. Not to mention, the slide guitar solo that comes in later in that song is such a great bluesy addition to what is otherwise a classic foot-stomping metal tune. That brings me to the second advantage. Their guitar player is well-acquainted with all the advanced progressive guitar techniques, allowing him to foray into much more creative and interesting territory. Halfway into Offered Blood for example, he pulls out an absolutely wild tapping riff that takes the song in another direction. What I'm saying is that Moon Tooth have the capacity to effectively branch out and experiment from stoner/sludge while still maintaining that rock n' roll attitude that emerges from the first notes of track number one, Queen Wolf.
One more Mastodon comparison, and I imagine that this band is tired of hearing that they sound like Mastodon, but the leading contender for the next big progressive sludge metal band has to be the Canadian group Anciients, who released their second album this year - Voice of the Void. I have so many positive things to say about this album. It basically has everything I want from a heavy band: massive sludgey riffs, powerful vocals, progressive songwriting. Voice of the Void opens up with a banger, called Following the Voice, which is one of the best pure metal songs of the year and starts off with one of 2016's best riffs. While the first track is straight-up metal, the second to last track, Serpents, shows their diversity, essentially being a stoner rock song. The vocals on that track are a pleasant surprise too, as even though he switches between cleans and harshes all throughout the album, he really belts it out on this one. The big standout for me however is the song Worshiper, which after presenting eight or so minutes of top-tier sludge metal, transitions into a disgustingly sinister doom/death portion to close this epic track out. It was the moment that this part hit that my ears perked up and I realized this isn't just a Mastodon copycat. Its Opeth their channeling in this part, and it doesn't hurt that his growls sound very similar to Mikael Åkerfeldt. Anciients are a really exciting band for me particularly, because while Opeth are my favorite progressive metal band, my favorite type of metal is sludge. A combination of the two then leaves me thinking that only two albums deep into their career, Anciients could easily become one of my favorite bands in the future, and with Voice of the Void they're on the right track.
Ever since Opeth moved away from death metal, lots of bands have been more or less competing (at least in my eyes) to carry the torch of progressive death metal. While Anciients are combining Opeth with sludge influences, another band named Black Crown Initiate also released their second album this year, and Selves We Cannot Forgive as its called, is much more specifically progressive death. BCI do a great job on this album with dynamics, i.e. mixing between soft and heavy/clean and harsh. Both the harsh and clean vocals are fantastic too. A song like Matriarch has great post-rock-esque interludes, heavy riffs, and a catchy chorus to boot. This is another band with all the potential in the world.
The other potential inheritor of the Opeth sound that released music this year was Perihelion Ship, whose organ-heavy debut, A Rare Thunderstorm in Spring, probably sounds more Opeth-y than anything else I've heard. They might even be more progressive than Opeth, as they end their album with an amazing 20+ minute title track. I just want to mention that I love how the that song ends, with its almost whimsical, but certainly mystical acoustic/vocal outro. If Perihelion Ship improve their clean vocals (they’re a bit lacking right now in my opinion), they're going right to the top of my most-exciting-new-bands list.
Now that we're firmly on the topic of prog let me discuss some releases that can only be filed into that category. Firstly, Haken made a lot of waves with their new album this year, entitled Affinity. I loved their last album, The Mountain, but I was happy to hear Haken take a risk and switch their sound up a bit, going for that reverb-soaked 80's aesthetic. I normally hate the 80's but I think it works on tracks like the aptly named 1985, because they really commit to it as an artistic aesthetic and not as a gimmicky production trick, if that makes sense. People will talk a lot a bout the epic 15+ minute The Architect, and rightfully so, but my favorite track on here is actually Bound by Gravity, a gorgeously atmospheric progressive rock track with lyrics that toe the line between profound and cheesy. That's Haken for you. If you're into this kind of pure-prog rock stuff, I'd definitely recommend checking out Anima Mundi's album from this year, I Me Myself, which is not really metal, but a great modernized rendition of classic progressive rock nonetheless. It's a concept album about technological progress too, and begins with an 18-minute epic called The Chimney, the Wheel and the War.
Other albums in the 2016 prog rock category that I loved this year include The Pineapple Thief's Your Wilderness. Interestingly enough, I'd never listened to The Pineapple Thief before despite them being right up my alley. I had heard the comparison's to Porcupine Tree before, and the fact that Gavin Harrison plays drums on this doesn't help to quell that comparison, but it turns out they're much more than that. I have immediately come to respect Bruce Soord as a magnificent songwriter, if not only for the amazingly intense yet dreamy nearly ten-minute track The Final Thing On My Mind. The way he extrapolates on simple melodies and turns them into much grander pieces of music is uncanny. Also, since I was making the comparison, I think that Soord's vocals are all in all better than Steven Wilson's (Porcupine Tree), both tonally and in his use of melody. A song like No Man's Land is really carried in the second half by Soord's very liberal and melodic use of his voice, even though it might be overshadowed by Gavin Harrison's wonderful drumwork in that same section.
I was so happy to come across the eclectic band Little Tybee and their self-titled album this year as well. I'm not sure if people generally consider them prog rock, but without a doubt this is one of the most progressive albums of the year. Their sound is rooted a folk and carries with it a lovely organic sound, but guitarist Josh Martin adds an intangible dreamy quality to this music that no other guitarist could. Employing a number of extremely advanced guitar techniques, including the thumping technique popularized by Martin's classmate Tosin Abasi of Animals as Leaders, Martin creates a mosaic of complex yet complimentary and subtle soundscapes to accompany the folk foundation of Little Tybee's music, which is incredibly strong even on its own. A track like Tuck My Tail is written in an extremely moving manner, and is only brought to another emotive level by unique guitar parts that Martin adds. Josh Martin should be included among the top guitarists in the world right now, unfortunately for him, his respectfully reserved and humble playing style, which perfectly suits the music they make, prevents him from getting the same recognition that players like Abasi do. Still, I'm blown away everytime I hear the miraculous tapping outro on Empire State.
Are we talking about bands that don't get enough recognition? Okay, I get that some bands just aren't meant to be popular, especially when their writing ten-minute long prog epics and playing in 17/4.5. But come on, how are Thank You Scientist not huge already?
“I don’t know how I should begin this conversation” - The opening line of Thank You Scientist’s second full-length album serves as an appropriate stream of conscious for myself as I try to describe all the things I love about this album. This isn’t just my album of the year; Stranger Heads Prevail is vying for a spot near the top of my favorite albums of all-time list.
I remember the first time I heard Thank You Scientist. I had just bought their first full-length, Maps of Non-Existent Places, and not long after I pressed play there was a huge smile covering my face. I didn’t know music like this existed. Extremely complex yet irresistibly catchy. Spanning so many styles yet with such succinct and natural songwriting. I was sold. But was it a novelty? Were they more than just ‘the rock band with the sax, trumpet and violin’?
On Stranger Heads Prevail, Thank You Scientist have gone beyond proving themselves as a serious band. They’ve set a new standard for modern progressive music. And they didn’t accomplish that by playing by the numbers. No. In 2016, Thank You Scientist got more weird and more wild.
The catchy songs are catchier (Mr. Invisible), the intense songs are more intense (Caverns), and every member of the band puts on a clinic on their respective instruments. Despite their glaring individual skills however, every musician in Thank You Scientist takes a perfectly balanced approach to their contribution, sitting back when necessary and jumping into the forefront when needed. This restraint, in conjunction with their evidently diverse array of stylistic influence, makes for an unparalleled level of dynamics within their songs.
Within only one song they will transition between psychotic jazz-rock, unhinged metal riffage, and straight up pop, without ever feeling disjointed or forced. In fact, Thank You Scientist transition between different styles better than anyone I’ve ever heard. With many dynamic progressive bands, I find myself having to overlook the weakness or non-existence of their transitions for the sake of hearing something diverse. The transitions on Stranger Heads Prevail on the other hand, which often materialize as some sort of wacky trumpet/sax lick, make up some of my favorite moments on the album.
I could go on and on… Tom Monda continues to be one of (if not the most) underrated guitarists out there, both in terms of creativity and outright skill (check out his crazy solo that he plays on a fretless guitar(!!) in Psychopomp). Salvatore Marano provides everything you’d want from a vocalist - elegantly clever lyrics (“It’s hard to sleep when keeping one eye open”), deeply emotive belting (A Wolf in Cheap Clothing), and more infectiously catchy hooks than you’ll ever hear on a progressive rock album (The Amateur Arsonist’s Handbook). My favorite moment on the album actually comes from the trumpet player, Andrew Digrius, with his bring-down-the-fucking-house solo on Need More Input. I didn’t even know that a trumpet was capable of being that intense and powerful.
I’m going to stop myself there and say only that Thank You Scientist are the most exciting band in the world today. If you get the chance to see them live don’t even think about missing it. They put on the best show I’ve ever seen hands down (and I’ve seen a lot of shows).
Once you listen to Stranger Heads Prevail enough times, and believe me I have, you realize that there is an overarching theme to this album. In the Epilogue, Sal sings:
And you said I could take it or leave it
We have so many songs still left to sing
Too many notes for normal folks to understand
Confirming my fears
That I threw it all away
Moving along
Singing along
Is all that I can do
Take it or leave it
I'll leave it all with you
We have so many songs still left to sing
Too many notes for normal folks to understand
Confirming my fears
That I threw it all away
Moving along
Singing along
Is all that I can do
Take it or leave it
I'll leave it all with you
The message is clear. We’re not going to put a limit on our creativity. We’re going to get as weird, as unique, as progressive as we can and see how far we can push it - and you can take it or leave it. Be different, be unusual; because in the end, stranger heads prevail.
I’m glad to hear that “have so many songs still left to sing”. I’ll certainly be listening, and I’m sure I won’t be the only one.
That’s my summary of the year! Check out my rankings for 2016 below.
Top 25 Albums of 2016:
25. Vektor - Terminal Redux
24. Mothership - Dance Gavin Dance
23. Chromaparagon - Moon Tooth
22. case/lang/veirs - case/leing/veirs
21. Your Wilderness - The Pineapple Thief
20. Set Course for Andromeda - Sithu Aye
19. The Wilderness - Explosions in the Sky
18. Marked for Death - Emma Ruth Rundle
17. Mariner - Cult of Luna & Julie Christmas
16. Little Tybee - Little Tybee
15. Nine Years - Mountain Dust
14. Voice of the Void - Anciients
13. Niechęć - Niechęć
12. What One Becomes - Sumac
11. Sorceress - Opeth
10. The Fall of Hearts - Katatonia
9. Safe Travels, See You Never - Terminus
8. Love & Hate - Michael Kiwanuka
7. Handmade Cities - Plini
6. Air - Astronoid5. Say So - Bent Knee
4. A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead
3. Old Sunlight - Latitudes
2. Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional - The Dear Hunter
1. Stranger Heads Prevail - Thank You Scientist
Top 25 Songs of 2016
*no repeat artists for sake of diversity
25. Nine Years - Mountain Dust
24. Handmade Cities - Plini
23. A Rare Thunderstorm in Spring - Perihelion Ship
22. Igneous - Moon Tooth
21. A Fleeting Glance - Opeth
20. Blackened Cities - Melanie De Biasio
19. Obsolete - Astronoid
18. Worshiper - Anciients
17. Image of Control - Sumac
16. Atomic Number - case/lang/veirs
15. Old Heart Falls - Katatonia
14. Young Robot - Dance Gavin Dance
13. Empire State - Little Tybee
12. Body within a Body - Latitudes
11. Metanol - Niechęć
10. Leak Water - Bent Knee
9. Celestial Violence - Ihsahn
8. Burn the Witch - Radiohead
7. The Final Thing On My Mind - The Pineapple Thief
6. The Most Cursed of Hands/Who Am I - The Dear Hunter
5. Lighthouse - iamthemorning
4. Devil is Fine - Zeal & Ardor
3. Blackstar - David Bowie
2. Need More Input - Thank You Scientist
1. Cold Little Heart - Michael Kiwanuka
2016 All-Star Band (i.e. Best Individual Performances)
*Vocals/Guitar/Bass/Drums/and one other instrumentalist of my choice
Vocals: Courtney Swain (Bent Knee)
Guitar: Plini (Plini)
Bass: Cody McCorry (Thank You Scientist)
Drums: Matt Garstka (Animals as Leaders)
Saxophone: Maciej Zwierzchowski (Niechęć)
Riff of the Year: The Most Cursed of Hands/Who Am I - The Dear Hunter (3:28)
Solo of the Year: Need More Input - Thank You Scientist (Trumpet Solo by Andrew Dingus at 4:59)
Chorus/Hook of the Year: Devil is Fine - Zeal & Ardor
Lyric of the Year: Hands Up - Bent Knee
Best Album Art: Melanie de Biasio - Blackened Cities
*Selected very much based on the relevancy of the art to the music, i.e., how much the art enhances the music
Best Sounding/Produced Album: Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
