The Top 10 Metal of 2010 - The Honorable Mentions

This year I'm taking a different approach to posting my Top 10 of 2010. I've listened to so much music - most of it metal - this year, I've decided to post my list as individual posts. I'm trying something new instead of blurting out a whole spiel and cursing myself later for not taking my time. It'll be a considered, measured and thoughtful list from me this year.

As is customary, I choose 10 of the best and give three honorable mentions - the Gold, Silver and Bronze awards respectively. In keeping with the spirit of ceremony, the Bronze award goes to:

 

Laethora - The Light in Which We All Burn

If you look closely at Dark Tranquillity records, you'll soon see a pattern emerge. All the despondent, morose and chilling tracks are written by guitarist Niklas Sundin - it's almost if he's the "dark" in Dark Tranquillity. In this, his side-project the cynicism and hopelessness is taken to an almost illogical extreme. Their sound is like a shotgun marriage of blast-beat driven punk grind and minimalistic death metal that feels as if we're listening to the soundtrack to a machine stripping away our humanity. A visceral and raw piece that avoids the pretension of revivalist second wave black metal yet still captures its misanthropic spirit.

The Silver award goes to:

Therion - Sitra Ahra

Therion is like the glue that binds the Swedish progressive metal scene together. If you're Swedish and you were ever in a progressive metal band, you've probably played in Therion. Unfortunately, Mats Leven is gone but has been replaced with the more than capable Thomas Vikstrom, paired with Snowy Shaw at the bass end of the vocal spectrum.
Of course, Therion are the standard-bearers for contemporary classical inspired metal and they run the gamut of the canon, streaking Vivaldi, Bach and Saint-Saens (as well as a symphonic metal "re-imagining" of Phantom of the Opera on the track Unugentum Sabbati) throughout the layers upon layers of seductive guitar rhythms, orchestral harmonies, tantric grooves and exotic, esoteric melody. Christofer Johnsson confirms yet again he is a master composer who is able to expertly balance his love of mystical epics and pomp with his propensity for power metal hooks and balladeering only to augment both. A balanced record with plenty of sweet guitar licks, instrumental surprises and measured choral lamentation.

The Gold award winner is:

Pain of Salvation - Road Salt One

It almost seems Pain of Salvation these days are merely a de jure progressive metal band - almost as if the band implores you to label them as such even though their music has taken a decidedly un-metal timbre in recent times. That aside, Mr. Daniel Gildenlow has produced another earnest and highly emotional piece in this, the first part of the "Road Salt Sequence." If he wasn't so outspoken with his left-wing views, I might even call it the Road Salt Cashgrab - but he only bleeds passion for music and it shows.
You can almost envision the shag carpeting underneath all of the band's feet as they lovingly give re-birth to 70s hard rock jam - it's like Uriah Heep and Nazareth got together to share their innermost feelings and take a whole bunch of ecstasy - but in the most honest and life-affirming way.
I've always argued that Pain of Salvation are the true (flower) kings of prog metal - and prog music in general - and Road Salt One proves it once again. Looking very forward to Road Salt Two early next year.

Next up, we start the real list...

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Scientific Journalism? Like Artistic Mathematics?

Most people in the Western world already know of the Wikileaks Cablegate and it's intrepid founder, Mr. Julian Assange and his recent legal troubles. Government enemy No. 1, he's either hated for shining light on the dark, shadowy recesses of authority or hailed as a champion for free speech and the rights of citizens to keep their governments in check.

Like him or not, he and his cohorts have swung an almighty hammer that's left a noticeable and almost unrepairable crack in the facade of international relations and politics. We are reminded once again that governments are in the service of its citizens and not the other way around.

But one element of the defense for his activities is insistence that his brand of iconoclastic reporting is to be called "scientific journalism," as he writes in the Australian:

WikiLeaks coined a new type of journalism: scientific journalism. We work with other media outlets to bring people the news, but also to prove it is true. Scientific journalism allows you to read a news story, then to click online to see the original document it is based on. That way you can judge for yourself: Is the story true? Did the journalist report it accurately? 

To me, as a student of General Semantics and a media professional, linking a primary document as a source of a story isn't really scientific, it's also sort of lazy. It's like using one map against another map of the territory to assess which one is more a true-to-fact re-presentation of territory. At the core of it, scientific journalism has its limits much in the same way new media or citizen journalism does as well as the entire debate surrounding "objectivity", ethics, etc.

If all media outlets adopt scientific journalism then they will also lose the human element in the process. Not every story can be reported via scientific journalism and it would be folly to call for every media producer to do so.

I also believe he misuses the word "scientific" in lieu of the more accurate "evidence-based and cross-verifiable." Science (or rather the scientific method) requires a hypothesis to be tested which is then either refuted or confirmed by the observed results. The nature of human reporting does not bode well for writing stories based on "science." Stories are not experiments to be replicated by other scientific practitioners. The "event" happens only once; we can only infer sense data after the fact. Stories are a medium to convey information from one person to a mass and will contain inaccuracies much like our language which involves a complicated abstraction process.

If our sources are people - witnesses, insiders, etc., we tend to gather information from their impressions - the byproducts of their semantic reactors. How do we know that what they know is accurate and so on into infinite regress.

I am all for an ethical, accurate press and free, open and limited government and I applaud Mr. Assange for his desire (and to a lesser extent, his methods) to tip the balance of power from bureaucratic government toward the people; those who pick up their tab and legitimize its authority. But as for "scientific journalism" Mr. Assange? Stick to what you know - but don't give up.

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The Crushtor.net Metal Awards 2010

Every year, I tend to hand out awards (read: dole out sarcasm and pithy remarks) to individual and collective performances of merit in the metal world. This year is no exception.

The William S. Burroughs Award for Strangest Mix of Genres
Although Shining released Black Jazz this year, an abortive yet intriguing attempt to make "black metal jazz" it has been done before (*cough* Vintersorg *cough*) with varying success. But this year's award goes to Japanese weirdos Sigh for their mix of black metal mock-horror, bright mariachi horns and Western soundtrack strings in their record Scenes from Hell. Of course, they add David Tibet of Current 93 fame to make it even more batshit insane. Good record, though.

The David Hasselhoff Award for Poor Vanity Album Production
The collaboration of melodic metal heavyweights Russell Allen and Jorn Lande (no, that wasn't a crack at their weight) has been successful, yielding now three albums chock full of power metal cheese and 80s prog metal guitar...explosions. But unfortunately, Jorn Lande can scarcely be heard, Mr. Allen singing rings around him. I guess Jorn had better things to do, such as taking his poodle to the manicurist, or something.

The Donald Trump Award for Most Obvious Cash-grab
Though the releases by German progressive ensemble The Ocean merits much praise, their record label, Metal Blade Records are laughing all the way to the bank by releasing their stellar records entitled Heliocentric and Anthropocentric independently of one another, three months apart. Forking out $60AU (retail) for what is essentially a double album sounds ludicrous. Because it is. Therion did it right - in 2004 they released Lemuria and Sirius B together to the delight of all. Of. All.

The Milli Vanilli Award for Strangest Case of Plagiarism
Dimmu Borgir are often maligned for not being "black metal enough" considering their new found popularity and propensity to produce their records to a degree above pitiful. Nevertheless, in their new record Abrahadabara they've opened up a new front from which electronic slings and arrows can be thrown at them - ripping off Aussie pub rock legends and human gyration enthusiasts Midnight Oil. The opening riff from the Demiurge Molecule sounds eerily similar to Power and the Passion. If Peter Garrett finds out, I expect they'll get a tap on the shoulder from Steve Conroy at Soundwave in 2011.

Stay tuned for my top 10 and other 2010 commentary in metal at Metal As Fuck :)

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