Albums from 2011 (so far) to check out

Three months into 2011; we've reach the one-quarter mark of the year already! I've been keeping up with all the new releases so far this year and have compiled a list of the best ones to date. In no particular order, here are ten releases from the first quarter of 2011 that I highly recommend checking out:

V by Vreid (Indie Recordings)

Amazing progressive black metal. Arguably my favorite so far this year.

Stoned by Acid Witch (Hell's Headbangers)

A unique mix of stoner metal, death metal, psychedelic keyboards and Sabbath-inspired riffs. Great "drinking beer and grilling out" music.

Subvert the Dominant Paradigm by Noisear (Relapse)

This is as grindcore as grindcore gets. Very technical, chaotic, fast, and insane. In terms of having your brain cells violently rearranged, this is an album that shines.

Blood on Snow by Eastern Front (Candlelight)

I'm a huge history nerd, so maybe I'm biased, but this black metal band from the UK blows me away. They have WWII-themed lyrics and a rythmic attack that even Immortal would be jealous of. Highly recommended.

Surtur Rising by Amon Amarth (Metal Blade)

It's Amon Amarth. Need I say more? Okay, so maybe it's not as good as their last two albums, but it's still effing awesome. Your metal collection is simply not complete if it doesn't include the latest offering by these Swedish melodic metal masters.

Onyx by Ava Inferi (Season of Mist)

Mesmerizing gothic-influenced doom metal. The female vocals only add to the immersive experience, while the Mastodon-influenced riffs and mournful piano melodies make for a surprisingly memorable experience.

 Kvelertak by Kvelertak (Indie Recordings)

Easily the most innovative and creative album I have ever encountered. This makes Mastodon look like stale trend-followers by comparison. Their sound is mostly dominated by black metal and punk influences, but they manage to blend a dozen other sounds in as well, all while maintaing an improbable coherence. Worth checking out for its ground-breaking qualities, if nothing else.


Firefight by Blackguard (Victory)

Commencing an enormous leap from their debut album, Blackguard succeed where their debut failed by translating their considerable live energy to the studio as they create an album that sounds like a mix between Children of Bodom and Ensiferum. It's epic, it's extremely energetic, and it's catchy as all hell.

Relentless Reckless Forever by Children of Bodom (Universal)

Speaking of the devil, here are the masters of Finnish melodic extreme metal with their latest release. While this doesn't match Follow the Reaper or even Are you Dead Yet? in quality, it's still much better than their most recent releases and shows that, even at their most mediocre, Children of Bodom still rank among the best modern metal bands.

Asylum Cave by Benighted (Season of Mist)

Call it brutal death metal, deathcore, technical death metal; I don't freaking care. This is awesome metal no matter how you paint it. I'm not normally a fan of hardcore breakdowns or "pig squeal" vocals, but both are used sparingly and tastefully enough on this album that they don't impede the considerable musical talent of Benighted.

New Arch Enemy track

For anyone who was lucky enough to download Arch Enemy's new track "Yesterday is Dead and Gone" off of their upcoming album Khaos Legions while it was still available, you may have caught a glimpse of what I suspect will be among the best metal albums this year. I apologize for not reposting the link before it had expired, but rest assured, this should be one monster of an album. Keep your eyes peeled for it.

Review of Acid Witch's "Stoned"

Acid Witch Stoned (Hell's Headbangers, 2011)

It drives me nuts when I see a really good, totally unknown band that is getting poor reviews simply because they promote themselves incorrectly. This is one such band. Hailing from the strange and foreign land known as Michigan, Acid Witch consists of only two members, who simply go by the names Shagrat and Dave. The cleverly-named Stoned is their second full-length album.

On their Myspace and other pages, they claim to be doom metal, and that is a mistake, because they clearly are not doom. This is more like psychedelic stoner metal with death-grunt vocals. They have a campy, goofy sense of humor (see: "Metal Movie Marijuana Meltdown"), but the songs are extremely catchy, with great riffs that are tailor-made for handbanging. They also have a unique bend of stoner themes, Sabbath-inspired riffs, and psychedelic 70s keyboards that I've never heard before.

The keyboards are what really makes this album stand out. They are used sparingly, but they are extremely effective when they are used, such as in “Live Forever.” They yank the listener out of the sludgy trenches being dug by the weight of the guitar riffs, and send you soaring for a few brief moments before the combined mass of the Dave’s massive riffs and Shagrat’s deep, gruff vocals drag you back down to earth.

This is a really good album and I recommend checking it out. Just don't expect doom metal, because that's not what they are. This is more of a "have a few beers and cookout with your buddies" album than anything else, so grab a case of imported beer (I recommend Newcastle Brown Ale or anything brewed by Hoffbräu), fire up the grill, and enjoy this for what it is.

Overall rating: 8.5/10