Doc Grier has a Top Ten(ish) of 2020 worthy of fear. Grab a beer and peer into the unknown.
Goatwhore
Azarath – Saint Desecration Review
“I want to do my best to respect the awe-inspiring Grymm. I inherited Azarath as he was too busy with other things to tackle it. I want to do him justice, to approach the Polish blackened death metal collective with the respect and professionalism due. I would mention that the act began as a side-project of Behemoth drummer Inferno and Armagedon guitarist Bart, currently featuring Embrional vocalist Skullripper and former Lost Soul guitarist Peter on bass. So, given the formidability of the members and the solid catalog ,b>Azarath has amassed, I want to treat 2020’s Saint Desecration with the privilege and honor it is owed.” Honor and desecration.
Texas Murder Crew – Everyone’s Last Breath Review
“Earlier this year, the “Pirate Metal Drinking Crew” cleaned up in ratings and accolades on this blog. Now we’ve got another crew in town – well, state – in the form of Texas Murder Crew. The big draw of this band for those unaware is guitarist Kevin Clark, who played on Devourment’s legendary Molesting the Decapitated. It’s amusing to me that, should I have been tasked with writing about Devourment as a promo guy, describing them as a “Texas Murder Crew” is the best description I would have never thought of.” Everything is deadlier in Texas.
Hellsodomy – Morbid Cult Review
“I’m willing to bet Voidhanger’s Working Class Misanthropy is a legal means of execution in some countries and Goatwhore’s live performance remains the only thing that has caused me to piss my pants in my adult life. Hellsodomy don’t sound too much like those bands, but the raging energy this Turkish quartet exudes with their whirlwind of blakk, thrash, and death is enough to make me consider shoving their second album Morbid Cult right into the flabby folds of my Year End List.” Are you cultish?
Noisem – Cease to Exist Review
“The impression I’ve always got from Noisem is that their primary goal is speed. Velocity is not an aspect but the essence of their sound. It’s a fun callback to the 80s speed race – which neither Noisem or I lived through – when bands would hear new grindcore demos via tape-trading and then try to write something even faster.” Speed thrills.
Aura Noir – Aura Noire Review
“I once jumped from the roof of my parents’ double-wide trailer with a cape/kite attached to my back and a four-foot plastic snow sled duct taped to my chest. No, I wasn’t drunk—I was ten. And, man, it hurt. Fast forward twenty-one years and you’ll find Father-of-the-Year Grier scaling a tree, scooting out along a solid cottonwood branch, and falling twenty feet atop a fence—my feet hitting the top strand as my face hit the ground. All because yours truly refused to hop the fence. And, guess what? It didn’t hurt at all. Because, yes, I was drunk. Those truths aside, I’ve never (fallen?) or thrown my soon-to-be corpse from a four-story building. But, I guess that separates Grier from Aura Noir’s Aggressor.” Norwegian black thrash, drunk with power.
Gravehill – The Unchaste, the Profane, & the Wicked Review
“Formed in 2001, this California quintet have made a career out of scorching assholes and taking names, with works like 2011’s When All Roads Lead to Hell and 2014’s Death Curse being particularly hard-hitting. Gravehill occupy that perfect niche between black, death, and thrash metal, that general “extreme metal” breed which is more about delivering killer riffs than being grimmer than thou.” Evil art, foul censorship.
Voidhanger – Dark Days of the Soul Review
“If there’s one problem with today’s metal scene, it’s that there’s not enough Infernal War in it. As heard most recently on 2015’s Axiom, the Polish blackened-death troupe are possibly the fastest, angriest, and most captivating band ever recorded, all of which make their lack of productivity that much harder to endure. Fortunately, all their rage couldn’t be contained in just one project, and thus War guitarist ‘Zyklon’ and vocalist ‘Warcrimer’ formed Voidhanger in 2010 to further their main band’s hate crusade against humanity.” Careers in hate.
Goatpenis – Anesthetic Vapor Review
This post has been removed because it promoted Nazi or Nazi-adjacent metal bands or musicians. We apologize.
Goatwhore – Vengeful Ascension Review
“Some 20 years ago, several prominent NOLA scene members activated Goatwhore and a new beast and underground supergroup was born, most notably featuring Acid Bath/Crowbar axeslinger Sammy Duet and Soilent Green frontman Ben Falgoust. It took a while before Goatwhore perfected their blasphemous style of sludgy, death-infused black metal, striking pay-dirt with the back-to-back punch of 2006’s A Haunting Curse and 2009’s Carving Out the Eyes of God. Since then they’ve been treading water with a couple of solid but less engaging albums, lacking the staying power of their best work.” Goats are excellent swimmers.
