There’s something to be said about longevity. In a decade where pretty much everyone is staging a “comeback” album of sorts, Depeche Mode are one of the few who can honestly say, “don’t call it a comeback”. They’ve been churning out albums at a relatively stable pace every few years, evolving their sound ever so slightly with each album, while still keeping their trademark sound of seductive, synth-flavored, industrial pop. But you don’t exists as long as a group like Depeche Mode and not have one album that’s remembered fondly as the band’s best moment. And for Depeche Mode, perhaps no album is more iconic than 1990’s Violator. So when the trio announced that Delta Machine would invoke that familiar ambient, goth-wave sound from the album that spawned “Personal Jesus”, and “Enjoy The Silence” , the anticipation was certainly warranted.
Right out of the gate Depeche Mode deliver the goods and live up to all that warranted hype. Album opener “Welcome To My World” sucks the listener right in with hypno swells, and an eerie,icy, techno. While they’re intent on invoking that same brooding sound from Violator, they go about in a way that’s much less predictable. Whereas Violator created ambience with it’s excess, Delta Machine feels like a much more subdued affair by comparison. The synth melodies are subtle woven in with spacy, organic instrumentation; from a xylophone accompaniment on “Secret To The End” , to the jazzy, ballroom swing in “Heaven”. The songs are arranged like empty canvases to be filled with layers of sound, synths, bells, whistles, glitches, pops, and whatever else the band felt like bringing in. In lesser hands, you’d have an unbalanced cacophony, but Depeche Mode are something of experts at this by now.
Not all of the experiments work so well though. While the songs near the beginning of the album rang from amazing to good, the album dips into some unforgivable filler territory. “My Little Universe” sounds too cluttered with glitch effects, poorly convinced EDM musings, and a dull vocal performance. “The Child Inside” sounds like it wouldn't be out of place on a Dave Gahan solo album, but a cocktail lounge-esque crooner just sounds out of place here. “Slow”, as the name suggest, is mind-numbingly slow and devoid of anything interesting. And “Broken” suffers from a chorus that reeks of phoned in. The album manages to get better again in time for the last four songs (“Alone” being perhaps the best of the lot), but it never really regains the momentum it had going in.
Delta Machine , minus an unforgivably bland middle, is a good album that starts strong and ends strong. The clunkers detract from the replayability value, but on those strong moments, Depeche Mode mange to take us back to the familiar sounds of their heyday that we thought we knew so well , and open a brand new door right through them. 33 years and 13 albums later and the fact that this band can still surprise is the real surprise.
Best Tracks: "Welcome To My World" , "Angel" , "Heaven" , "Alone"
Lets have a little chat about irony. It's a subject that's near and dear to my heart, all but impossible to avoid regardless of what circles you run in in, odds for it being name dropped tend to increase wherever pop culture discussion and the desire to be the smartest one in the room clashes with alcohol, and it's the one word that you can take comfort in knowing that you're not alone in using while not being entirely sure of what the hell it is. It was all the rage in the literary circles of ye olden times. However, it is a literary device that has made quite the comeback in recent years thanks social media and heated online discussions of TV shows. The downside is that it's a literary device that's meaning has been mangled so much that these days almost everyone uses it wrong and worse, has lead to the birth of the nonsense phrase " doing it ironically". There is NO other phrase that I would like to see disappear more then this. Irony is the dividing argument in any discussion about art. With any form of art or media the only two questions they should ever matter are, "What was the intended message?" and "What message did I get?". That's it.
My problem with the phrase "doing it ironically" is that it becomes the "dog ate my homework" excuse for doing something and for it turning out shitty. Did a lousy job? "Oh, we where doing it ironically. It's suppose to suck." That's the hipster equivalent of the emperor wearing no clothes. Artists owning up to their visions and being honest with their feelings is something that we've just become jaded to. Everything seems to be calculated to appeal to a specific audience rather then invoke honest emotions. Emotions are tricky and can't be taken back. You risked being laughed at for daring to not care about what certain circles perceive as cool. So bullshit irony is the easy way out. It's the non-committal boyfriend of misused literary devices.
Which brings me to the later weird part of the title to this blog entry: Every so often someone comes about that's adamant about not carrying about being popular that it comes out in their music. This doesn't necessarily mean good music by the way. Steel Panther for instance are probably (and unfortunately) earnest as fuck and they still suck.
But in Grandpa Griffith you have a group that was so hell bent on not carrying that they succeed in becoming all but a blip on the music radar. They appeared, set out what the wanted to do, and presumably returned to their jobs of being whimsical lab instructors/mustache enthusiasts.
There's a chance that I never would have found them if I wasn't drifting through the Internet trying for some damn reason to find a song about Aquaman so badly. And you know what, to understand Grandpa Griffith's message, there's no better place to start. You see, most songs about Aquaman are either tongue-in-cheek mockeries or flat out ballads to self-loathing. It's just too easy to make a song fueled by negativity. It's 1) ridiculously easy 2) expected and 3) relatively safe. You an throw a bottle at an big target with everyone else in the crowd and not worry about being judged for pondering "do I really hate this?" Grandpa Griffith have no such aversions. That is why they can, without a trace of irony pen what has gotta to be the most earnest song about the plight of being Aquaman ever. Additionally , it's quite possibly the best son about Aquaman ever.
The second greatest song about Aquaman.
They're not lauding him, or using him as a cheap punchline for an easy laugh to be the "cool" kids. They take us into the mind of one a hero cursed with the plight of being useful in a painfully limited setting and sympathize with him. Which isn't particularly "cool", but that's all right with them because Grandpa Griifth don't look they ever once cared about being cool. Look at this group shot again.
Does it it look like ANYONE could give less of a shit about you liking them? It's not the angst ridden, "I don't care if you like me but by saying that, I'm really hoping you do.". It's the earnest as fuck "hey! we're in a band! This is cool. Maybe you'll like us! That's cool too!". It's the musical equivalent of Bryan Cranston. ( On Malcom In The Middle as opposed to Breaking Bad which is decidedly different kind of not giving a shit)
It doesn't just stop at the Aquaman song either. They have a whole album of material, consisting of the tongue in cheek fun of They Might be giants minus any of the popularity. Most of which an be found on the band's vacant Myspace page. It's so unbelievably refreshing to find something on the Internet that for once, isn't not a calculated attempt at being quirky to target an audience. It's the realistic, accidentally kind of quirky. The kind that steams from being yourself. Their song, "Mustache Man" is quite literally a song about a guy who's wearing a mustache and apparently the king of France. They probably thought it was funny.
If you followed that link and got to the end, you'll realize that this was a live recording on a radio station somewhere, in an interview that Grandpa Griffith most likely forgot. They could stick around and wonder who's listening to them, but they're a little too busy taking off to play at a place in Oklahoma called Iron Cactus. A place which in all likely hood probably doesn't exits anymore. It could have been their best show ever. Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe they blew on stage and everyone was too busy trying to ask"are they for real?" Grandpa Griffith doesn't care. Because they know they're for real. And more importantly, they don't give a shit to make sure you know that. It's what music should always be about. Not being acclaimed. Or even good. Just doing what you love, doing it to best of your abilities, and being proud enough to put your name on it. Grandpa Griffith probably thought their songs were kick ass. At no point did they worry about being quirky enough or indie enough or anything enough. And that was enough.
Grandpa Griffith, I'm not sure who you were. Information on you has been sparse and two hours of the strictest Google research has turned up dead ends. But from what I've learned, I believe should the day come when Aquaman: The Motion Picture is a reality and the rousing chorus of "I'm Aquaman" plays over the end credits, you'll be turning around to look at each other with excited smiles on your weekly group movie nights. And one of you will say, "Sweet! That was our song! That's kinda cool." You might even cash a check for it as an after thought. Not that you'll care too much. And I love you for it.
Wavves
frontman, Nathan Williams, may very well be the poster child for
‘luckiest guy in indie”. He found a way to turn a pastime/side project
of strumming away at the few guitar chords he knew through a wall of
sonic distortion to make the monthly rent, into a legitimate musical
career. Album after album, Wavves has served up the same cocktail of
infectious beach melodies, filtered through washed out guitar noise and
punk rock energy. So you’d be forgiven if upon a first shallow listen, Afraid Of Heights sounds
like everything you’d expect out of a Wavves album; crunchy, fuzzy surf
garage that’s perfect to bump in your car when you and the bros are
heading for the pier and nothing more.
But while Afraid Of Heights at
first sounds like the same shallow, sugary pop hooks on the surface,
there’s a surprising amount of hidden depth to be found. Wavves throw in
some new experiments on the album unlike anything they’ve done prior.
“Mystic”, “Everything’s My Fault”, and the ode to apathy, “I Can’t
Dream”, find Wavves fiddling around with some very sparse, downright
depressing arrangements. The faded out guitars, the psychedelic wash of
noise, and William’s apathetic drone take you to an entirely different
place, as emotional far removed from the “ fun in the sun” as you can
get.
Rest assured ,the feel-good surf rock vibes are all still ever present.
Wavves don’t deviate from their trademarks too much, and as much as I
rag on about their simplistic approach, they still know how to create
some intensely enjoyable, sun soaked hooks. “Sail To The Sun” , the
title track , and the bonus track “Hippies Is Punk”, are among the best
tracks here and exemplify Wavves doing what they do best; mixing simple
60’s guitar pop melodies with the energy of an out of control wave
pre-break through a wall of sonic fuzz. But this time around there’s
plenty of variety to the otherwise one-note band. Nathan Williams weaves
some subtle tone changes beneath the surface and for all the feel good
energy, a quiet feeling of desperation manages to slip in; even on the
“upbeat” tracks. (“Paranoid”, “That’s On Me” , the dreary chorus of
“Beat Me Up”)
Afraid Of Heights has
its fair share for throwaway tracks, but it’s not nearly as repetitive
sounding as early Wavves albums. The subtle uses of mood shifts and the
creative experiments here and there add some much needed variety to what
would otherwise grow stale over time. Whether you're in the mood for
feeling the sunshine, basking in the quite apathy, or both, Wavves has
got your summer soundtrack.
Upon further research I've learned that the Golden God Awards, in all their wisdom, have decided to have a category this year for "Metal As Fuck". Also, reserved to be purely decide on by committee, are the esteemed "Riff Lord" , "Spirit Of Hammer" and "Golden God" awards.Which means that someone somewhere (most likely too drunk to care) will be announcing these award names to grab the attention of a very specific kind of audience; the crowd that would enjoy an award called "Metal As Fuck" being said on a live broadcast. Stay classy Revolver.
Look I get it, it's niche awards ceremony that only a handful of people will end up watching anyway. But that's no excuse for giving the same media outlets who've been decrying metal as immature shcolck, undeserving of the attention paid to "real" musicians, just more wood for their pyres. Things like having an award for "Metal As Fuck"? Yeah, that's exactly the kind of thing that turns people off to metal surprisingly. Events like the Golden Gods insures that the only new fans of metal that can be made will be the incredibly superficial ones who stopped listening right around the time you said "Metal As Fuck." And they go on to start new "hardcore" bands of their own with no appreciation for music beyond the image and gimmicks. Do you REALLY wanna be held responsible for another decade of watered down Five Finger Death Punch rip-offs? Or do you wanna foster the next Mastodon? The next Mehsuggah? The next Opeth? Incredibly talented musicians who are drawn to the heaviness of metal and have the imaginations to take it farther.
Anyway I'll be going through the nominees for a handful of categories that will be deiced on by voting, and (because I'm a sucker for award shows), will be offering my predictions And maybe take the time to spotlight some occasionally pleasant surprises that may crop up in this all too predictable affair. As far as I can tell the nominees were originally picked by fan votes through Revolver Magazine. So suffice to say, if it's a band that hasn't been on tour with Metallica or played a concert series sponsored by a sports drink, their not on the list. (Though their is a catagory for "Best Underground". Color me intrigued.)
And yes, of course I'm going through the nominees for "Metal As Fuck" I'd never forgive myself if I didn't.
Best Drummer:
Nominees:
Abe Cunnigham - Deftones
Arejay - Halestorm
Gene Holgan - Dethklok/Testament
Mario Duplantier - Gojira
Neil Peart - Rush
Roy Mayogra - Stone Sour
Who Should Win:
I rested on this one back and forth but in terms of talent alone, I have to give it to Duplantier of Gojira. Gojira aren't the most impressive band out there, but on the list of "accessible" metal bands to newcomers, they certain are the most creative. I wouldn't quite call Duplantier's drumming style to be prog, but he's certainly knocking on the door and shows shades of some of those crazy jazz influences, especially on his fills.
Who'll Probably Win:
There's a huge chance it'll be Duplantier. Abe Cunnigham simply isn't that exciting on Koi No Yokan. But I'd easily give it to him over the ass-hat from Stone Sour (I will NEVER be able to buy these guys as anything more then radio-friendly "hard rock") or Neil "to old for this shit" Peart. I strongly contest that Rush shouldn't be even mentioned around the words "metal". And by this point, pretty much everyone who knows anything about drums, already knows Neil's the best alive. He's been awarded a thousand times over for it, and he may even live forever to heap that praise thanks to his drum solo of life. Though part of me wants to see a crotchety old Neil Peart come up to claim his award, complaining about some punk ass teens who laughed at him in the parking lot the whole time.
Best Guitarist: (AKA Dimebag Darrel Shredder)
Why this simply couldn't have been called "Best Guitar" is beyond me. Sure, defenders will say Revolver Magazine's doing their best to honor the passing of an incredibly influential guitar player. Others like me will say it's a painfully transparent attempt by Revolver to make their made up awards appear more important. But I digress.
Nominees:
Johan Söderberg And Olavi Mikkonen - Amon Amarth
Eric Claderone - Youtube Guy (No shit. That's really his title on the voter's docket)
Paul Waggoner - Between The Buried And Me
Fredrik Åkesson - Opeth
Andy James - Sacred Mother Tounge
Who Should Win:
Holy "sudden change in tone' Batman! Yes, I'll give the readers of Revolver the credit. The voted in some pretty talented shredmasters. As to who should be our winner, I'll take the unpopular position and announce that it shouldn't be Soderberg/Mikkonen or Akesson because they've been DISQUALIFIED on a technicality. Amon Amarth's Sutar Rising and Opeth's Heretiage were both released in 2011, which should make them ineligible. This is coming from a guy who's a fan of both bands and is quite glad that I don't have pick one or the other. So with that out of the way, Waggoner's never really impressed me but that may have more to do with the fact I've always though he was a pretty boring guitarist to watch live. Points would go to Revolver for picking relative new-comers Sacred Mother Tongue to jockey for the Best Guitarist award if it didn't reek to high heaven of corporate shilling behind the scenes; the only reason an otherwise bland band would be getting a mention. That leaves the obvious winner being, no shit, youtube guy. Eric Claderone goes home with this honor. The evidence?
When you're done getting lost in that dreamy smile and those shimmering eyesbasking in the metal riffing awesome, you can find him on Youtube playing pretty much ever kind of cover song ever and making it 20% cooler.
Who'll Probably Win:
Revolver's rules for these things are shaky at best and nonexistent at worst, so odds are good that Amon Amarth and Opeth are still on the table, and with that expect the twin shredders of Amin Amarth to take the prize. Heritagemay very well be the dullest Opeth have ever sounded.
Best Bassist (AKA Paul Gray Best Bassist)
Another awkwardly named award. Not to besmirch the loss of Paul Gray (Slipknot) in even the slightest. He had friends and family who loved him and by all accounts was a good man. But naming an award after him? Over I don't know just spit balling here but..., Cliff Burton? Who's also dead? A a much much MUCH bigger influence to legions of bass players then the guy from Slipknot? Hell even Chi Cheng struck me as a more talented musician then Gray. No this, stinks of Revolver trying to latch on to someone's death in an attempt for prestige. At least Dimebag's been dead for longer then a few years. Again, stay classy Revolver.
Nominnes:
Geddy Lee - Rush
Jason Newsted - Newsted
Lemmy Kilmister - Motorhead
Rex Brown - Kill Devil Hill
Sergio Vega - Deftones
Steve Harris - Iron Maiden
Who Should Win:
No, no, no, fuck it, no. No established guys as big as Lemmy or Steve Harris should be ever mentioned for these awards. If Revolver's gonna make this a popularity contest at least give the spotlight to some new talent who actually would benefit from the exposure. There are NO other award shows carted to metal and taking advantage of how niche these awards are would be a great way to introduce new bands who are in desperate need for support.As for Geddy Lee, love him to death but Rush may find themselves in the awkward position of being both too famous to deserve winning, and not really popular enough among the average Revolver readership to warrant votes. Jason Nested is not as established (other then causal fans knowing him as "that one guy who was in Metallica"), but the fact he's being nominated for an EP of his band that was only just released in December of 2012, makes it seem premature to say the least. It just hits me now that Rex Brown was once in Pantera. Well shit, I guess everyone's (with the exception of Sergio)established. And they'd want to be nominated for a Golden God why exactly? With that said, Rex Brown was underrated in his time with Pantera and that distinctive tone of his all but defined groove metal. Kill Devil Hill seems like a lackluster outfit that doesn't deserve him, but his bass playing remains as impressive as ever. He's my guy to win it.
Who'll Probably Win:
Sergio Vega's got a shot here and not just on an emotion vote for filling the shoes of Chi Cheng. He adds a ton toKoi No Yokan and is a big part of that all encompassing, ambient wall of sound. He mixes the heavy riffing with the lighter drones like a boss. No one can ever replace Chi as a person and nor should they try. But as a musician, Vega's a clear step above him. Diamond Eyes (the first album he was present on) is every bit as strong as White Pony. With Koi No Yokan he's now two for two.
Best Vocalist:
Nommines:
Chino Moreno - Deftones
Chris Cornell - Soundgarden
Corey Taylor - Slipknot/Stone Sour
Maria Brink - In This Moment
Phil Anselmo - Down/Solo
Lzzy Hale - Halestorm
Who Should Win:
Maria Brink hands down. It pains me that a legion of In This Momment fans will never see her as anything more then eye candy. But she's bursting with talent and has one of the most unique voices I've heard in a good while. From the seductive whispers to the bloodcurdling screams to this oddly soothing baritone she pulls out of nowhere, she can flip ranges at he drop of a hat and is THE reason anyone's even talking about this band legitimately (once you get pass all the obvious creeps) I'm as a big a Chris Cornell fan asanyoneelse, but Soundgarden don't really need to be here. Suffice to say he sounds as great as ever on King Animal.
Who'll Probably Win:
Not to take anything away from Lzzy who's a vocal titan by her own right. But Revolver hasn't made it anymore obvious that they've fallen in love with her and, judging by the fact that the voters on this contest are readers of Revolver and they've already voted for Lzzy once before (for reasons that have slightly less to do with her musical talent), it's a pretty safe bet it'll happen again.
Metal As Fuck
Told you I wouldn't forget! Okay lets gets this over with.
Nominees:
Sea Shepard - Whale Conservation efforts backed by a fleet of ships; one of them named Gojira. It's a lofty group that has the support of a couple of outspoken celebrities. Their good looking people. And maybe consideredterrorists.The band offers their endorsement. Which means something I guess? No seriously, that's were the connection ends. A metal band named after the Japanese name for Godzilla discovers there's a boat out there with their same name fighting whalers by using questionable means, and they've decided to raise money for them through album sales like ever other ass-hat celebrity out there.
Bugerkill - Emerging from Indonesia to set the metal world on fire in a predominatelyMuslim country. Not exactly a repeat of the Accrasicadu story (for those who haven't' seen Heavy Metal In Baghdad, check it out), as Bugerkill's not the lone wolf metal band of Indonesia. But there's something to be said about trying to slug it out in a country for 16 years were ticket sales are hard to come by because yourgovernment still thinks you're music speaks to the devil.
Jason Newsted - Getting over the fact that he was kicked out of Metallica years ago, along with a stint in physical rehab, to release an EP from his new band that's simply his last name over what have to be the most self-esteem deprived guys ever.
Nergal - "for speaking out against religious intolerance" sounds pretty impressive at first.Then you find out that he's "speaking out" was more of calling the Catholic Chruch"the most murderous cult on the planet" and tearing up a bible on stage. Granted the Polish government are being complete tools by criminalizinghim. What he did was stupid and in some circles we'd call it hate speech, but no one got hurt. Because apparently they are NOproblemsinPoland that could possibly be more important then what some asshole form a metal band thinks of religion. Nergal (AKA Adam Darski), points are not rewarded for speaking your mind. Lots of people can do that. You get points for speaking out against real religious intolerance when you have something to say that's slighty more profoundthen a 15 year old atheists who's just discovered4chan.
Not a doctored image.
Pussy Riot - The Golden Gods honers them for standing up to Putin and being jailed for playing loud, angry music decrying the Church.More less THE Church of Moscow. Vladimir Putin is a vile man who has used his bullshit cult of personality to run his nation like a dictator in all but name, and he's a master of using the media and public perception to make his will felt and ally the citizens of Russia with him (whether they like it or not). It's very punk rock what Pussy Riot did and for all the speculation that this was attention move, the fact that the group tuned down the opportunity to tour with some of the biggest names in music (whenprettymucheveryonewho was anyone declared support of the band), they turned down the offer. See as much as Pussy Riot loves freedom of speech, they apparently hate the shit out of capitalism and are perfectly willing to be poor and/or jailed to speak their minds.You just don't get that kind of dedication from today's punks.
Who Should Win:
Could it be the one I didn't make any sarcastic remarks about? Yeah Pussy Riot's got this. The Burgerkill story's a close second though.
Who'll ProbablyWin:
Pretty much everyone was talking about Pussy Riot then and there's a great chancethat the rest of the nominees haven't even been heard of. With the exception of Jason Newsted who's about as "Metal" as he is "Fuck". Which is a clumsy way of saying he isn'teither.
Most Dedicated Fans
Honestly I have no idea how one even goes about measuring this, and it really does feel exactly like the kind of brainless question you'd find at the back of a magazine.
Nominees:
A Day To Remember
Black Label Society
Black Veil Brides
Him
Rammstein
Slipknot
Who Should Win:
*pulls hair* *grunts* *throws pen* *slams head*......OKAY. The prize is technically to the most devoted fanbase. So Slipknot's fanbase has been strong over the years and with the death of their bass player Paul Gray, compounded with the fears that they may not tour again as Slipknot, has gotten the troops united. Black Label Society fans have tended to be more Ozzy fans and the lack of many Ozzy dates in the States, along with the fact that Zakk Wylde was kicked out of Ozzy's group may have dwindled the fan numbers. As for Him I'd say- Stop it. No just no. Fuck. No. This is a horrible award.With the exception of Rammstein, all of these bands blow unbelievably hard and the prize goes to which ever fanbase is willing to debase themselves and their dignity the most. Fuck it, Rammstein. Rammstein wins. They don't have to rely on the cheapgimmick of having a tacky, obnoxious fanbase of teeny boppers to get it. No, Rammisten accomplishes this by being equal parts crazy awesome and "oblivious to basic fire safety"
Who'll Probably Win:
Black Veil Brides or A Day To Remember. They succeed mostly by hitting that sweet spot of highest amount fans + largest amount of disposable income + potentially in middle school.
Best New Band
Nominees
Device
Ghost
Kvelertak
Miss May I
Of Mice And Men
Young Guns
Who Should Win:
Device gets disqualified right off the bat for officially being only weeks old. But for those who are curious, it's an actually surprisingly good mixture of David Draiman doing the exact same thing he's been doing for years with Disturbed, only backed by an industrial metal sound. Ghost gets disqualified on the grounds that I have no idea who the hell they are. A simple search revels a handfull of bands ranging form screamo to post technical death, across 6 or so countries. So they get disqulfied for having depressingly limited imaginations. That leaves Miss May I and Of Mice Men (two interchangeable poppy "hardcore" ), the Young Guns (boring radio-ready alt metal) and Kvelertak (a psychotic sounding, blues influenced, rock n' roll, punk soaked, sludge fest built around a guy who's screaming at you in Norwegian). Yeah this one's an obvious winner. Kvelertak take it home and points to Revolver for giving these guys the exposure.
Who'll Probably Win:
Of Mice And Men and Miss May I sound just a little bit TOO similar. So similar that even the same fans of this kind of shcolck will be painful aware of how uncreative they are. So I'm hinging on Young Guns to take it.
Best Underground
Nominesses
Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats
The Algorithm
Black Breath
Royal Thunder
Hexvessel
Who Should Win:
Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats are disqualified for having their debut released in 2013. (I'm starting to wonder if I'm just being a stickler for the rules that are tenacious at best at this point). But totally recommend them. They have a great stoner rock feel to them. If you've ever gotten to that point where you were just high enough to wonder "Dude! What if John Lennon was in Black Sabbath...?", this is the band for you. I've got to say though, this categorie's nominees really impressed me with nary a bad one in the bunch. Black Breath are probably the most accessible, playing an anger hardcore doom-infused sound, but it rattles with very real aggression as opposed to marketed aggression. And Hexvessel caught me completely by surprise by being the least hard thing probably in this whole awards show. Think folk metal, subtract the metal, then add Hobbits. They are my clear choice for the simple reason I know they stand no chance of winning but I doubt they'll care on The Shire.
Who'll Probably Win:
Black Breath. See above for "most accessible". And as popular as EDM has gotten (The Algorithm blend it interestingly with with brutal riffing and wisely chose to leave out vocals), saying "electronic music" is all but a swear word in these circles.
Album Of The Year
Nominees
Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage
Halestorm - The Strange Case Of...
Marylin Manson - Born Villian
Stone Sour - House Of Gold And Bones Pt. 1
Soundgarden - King Animal
Deftones - Koi No Yokan
Who Should Win:
Deftones hands down. As much as I love Soundgarden (and loath the fact that they're being included in this "awards" show) King Animal is a far from their strongest work. Halestrom's album, short of a few great singles, is pretty cut and dried. I'd completely forgotten Marylin Manson was even a factor in music anymore. And Stone Sour have now become the worst kind of douche by attempting the dreaded concept album. Yeah not buying it.
Who'll Probably Win:
With the death of Chi Cheng on many minds, this could be the Deftones night. Failing that Halestorm. Kinda hard to ignore the band you've booked two years in a row to play at your rewards show.
