Mark Z. and L. Saunders have their moment in the blackened sun to proclaim their Top Ten(ish) preferences for 2019. Fear the words.
Ketzer
Urn – Iron Will of Power Review
“Nothing in this world is as good as blackened thrash metal. In the book of Z, it is the pinnacle of not just metal, but music in general. While Australian acts like Gospel of the Horns and the fukkin almighty Deströyer 666 do it best, that doesn’t mean the rest of the world has nothing to offer. Finland’s Urn are one such band who have been reliable in keeping my head banging over the years, even if their straightforward take on blackened thrash was never enough to bring them to the big leagues.” Boo-Urn?
Ketzer – Cloud Collider Review
“If any band are poised to make a comeback, it’s Ketzer. Back in 2009 the German quintet burst onto the scene with their Satan’s Boundaries Unchained debut, which essentially sounded like the best album Desaster never wrote. I can hardly even mention Boundaries without wanting to blast it at ear-splitting volumes and to this day it remains one of my favorite blackened thrash albums of all time. Sadly, 2012’s Endzeit Metropolois was altogether weaker, while 2016’s Starless was an Illud Divinum Insanus-level atrocity that showed the group unsuccessfully attempt to rip off the goth rock style of Tribulation’s The Children of the Night.” Don’t call it a comeback.
Denouncement Pyre – Black Sun Unbound Review
“For an American who’s never visited, Australia seems like the coolest place on Earth. I get emissions testing done on my Toyota and listen to an old Army veteran reminisce about the beachy weather and beautiful women he met during his R&R travel there. I talk to a co-worker and hear stories about young women writing their phone numbers on tennis balls and tossing them onto the deck of his ship as it pulled into Sydney. I shotgun a Fosters while riding a kangaroo, wearing Globes, and blasting Deströyer 666 loud enough to crush my balls. I may have made one of those up. Point is, I love Australian metal, and Denouncement Pyre is no exception.” Disparaging the Boot is a bootable offense, Mark!
Necronomicon – Advent of the Human God Review
“Despite being dubbed the “Chameleon of Rock” for his ever-changing style, the late David Bowie didn’t agree with this title. “For me a chameleon is something that disguises itself to look as much like its environment as possible,” he once said. “I always thought I did the exact opposite of that.” But fret not, you fanatical herpetophiliacs out there, Canadian blackened-death trio Necronomicon is proof positive that musical chameleons do, in fact, exist.” Those who deny the existence of musical chameleons may be musical chameleons themselves. Trust nothing.
Ketzer – Starless Review
“There are several unassailable truths in heavy metal. A brutal death metal concert will always smell like garbage and unwashed socks. The wait for a new Necrophagist album will always be the metal blogosphere’s running joke. And when a band experiences some commercial and critical success after employing a fresh sound, you can bet your Ghost buttplug there will be a slew of imitators there to jump on the bandwagon and catch whatever stray dollars they can.” And that brings us to the flavor of the day.
