G. Jason Head's "My Favorite Music Releases of 2007"

MAYHEM:

Best release of the year. I fucking love this record. I was bummed when the short US tour got canceled and I really hope they come back.

SHINING:

I caught on to these guys way too late. “Halmstad” has to be one of the most depressing metal releases ever. Kvarforth has to be one of the most violent people in music right now. Extremely emotional music.

COBALT:

These guys are from Colorado and play some really strong metal. They seem like a mix of really early Mastodon and west coast US Black Metal. Very catchy riffs too. I need to find some more stuff from these dudes.

WATAIN:

I’ve been following these guys since their early demos. Yes, I noticed that they improved their production a million-fold but I thought it was quite appropriate. I loved this release and I think Watain are one of the best in the genre. One thing that I held back in my review of this one were that it really sounds like the Dissection record that everyone was hoping “Reinkaos” would be. You can really hear the influence on this.

BLOODTSUNAMI

Wow. What can I say. This record really brought back memories from the late 80’s. This is fun, kick ass speed metal. (And the cover of this record rules too, yo!)

UNSANE

I’m always surprised at how many people hate the Unsane. I like how consistent they are, as they haven’t changed their sound like, ever. Their first record is still identical to their last. I learned how to play guitar from listening to their early stuff over and over, so I like these guys. Visqueen was a strong release. It’s too bad this fell under the radar this year.

PROCERVENEFICUS

Since every one of the Procer Veneficus releases are on underground/small indie CDR labels, not many people get a chance to hear them. Every release by this dude is amazing. Usually droney-atmospheric recordings that are highly enjoyable to listen too. This particular release was a standout to me this year, however I also got 3 other ones that were all very good. Not metal at all.

DOWN

Nice return from DOWN. Sure, this release is nowhere near as strong as DOWN I, but still, I like that these guys are keeping-on with this. Really looking forward to seeing them in January.

NEUROSIS

Yes! Another Neurosis record was oddly very quietly released. This continues on the path of their last release. Fans of Neurosis will like this. Others, I’m not sure. Now they just need to play some more shows.

CLUTCH

I love Clutch. These guys have to be on the the hardest working bands out there these days.

KAPEIN

This is my token unknown band who ends up on my playlist and never comes off. I don’t know much about these folks other than this record is a good one.

EARTHLESS

Whoa! Stoner-Psychedelic rock and roll by some old Rocket from the Crypt and Hot Snakes folks. If you like guitar rock, pick this one up.

TRELLDOM

This is a second band that Gaahl from Gorgoroth is in. It’s simple stuff, and most songs are the same few chords over and over. But take heavy guitars and Gaahls vocals and you got a winner. (At least fot metal fans.)

FUNERALFOG

The final chapter from this canadian black metal is a strong one. This band sort of grew on me enough that I am looking past stealing a mayhem song name for their band name. On that same note, there is some interesting things going on in the Canadian black metal scene. I’m gonna start paying more attention this year.