Metal:

10) Noisem – Agony Defined
Even though the members are barely out of high school, Baltimore’s Noisem have released a tight blast of technical death metal that sounds like it was crafted a decade before these guys were even born. Precision playing is balanced perfectly with youthful energy and vigor to craft a relentless record that leaves you wanting more. A bright future awaits these kids…

 

9) Carcass – Surgical Steel
Both Carcass and Exhumed released absolutely killer melodic death metal albums this year, but given that Exhumed leans heavily on the framework built by Carcass, the godfathers of medical grind rightly deserve this spot on the list. Surgical Steel is an album that could have fit perfectly between Necroticism and Heartwork. It’s good that Walker and Steer had nearly two decades to explore other directions and get all that out of their system, because this record is a long-overdue return to form.

8) Uncle Acid – Mind Control
After a debut LP that garnered much well-deserved attention, there was much debate if Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats could keep up the magic on their sophomore album. Like its predecessor, Mind Control comes on strong with the Black Sabbath worship, but this time is focused more on the later 70s era (think Sabotage – Never Say Die!). Uncle Acid still manages to mix in their own blend of psych and 70s horror sleaze to arrive at a sound that’s distinctly their own. And while Sabbath also released a noteworthy album this year, Mind Control sounds much more exciting to these ears and had to be included on this list. Its no surprise Sabbath tapped these guys to open for the European leg of their tour.

7) Acrimonious – Sunyata
From an artwork perspective, this is already an adventurous record. Adorned with a bright colorful painting of a goddess and accompanied by a booklet filled with more vibrant paintings in the same style, this does not look like a typical black metal record. Acrimonious have been steadily maturing over the course of their releases, and their early expressions of unfocused hatred and destruction have evolved into a more calculated and refined form of dark worship. Even though this was technically released November 2012, I’m giving it a pass since the vinyl didn’t drop until 2013 and that’s when I heard it.

6) Kadavar – Abra Kadavar
Germany’s Kadavar have two things under their belts: growing beards and crafting 70s-inspired proto metal riffs. Much like what Witchcraft’s first record did with Pentagram, Kadavar wraps up the best parts of Jerusalem, Leaf Hound and early Scorpions with enough of their own spin to sound classic but not derivative.

 

5) Cultes Des Ghoules – Henbane
Mystery surrounds this occult Polish black metal band, but one thing is for sure: they’ve been steadily building a strong reputation with each release steadily building in quality and intensity. This year’s Henbane is the cultivation of that evolution, and is a truly remarkable black metal record with depth and range. The 5 tracks of this album are all in the 9+ minute range, and each is an epic composition that covers a great deal of dynamic ground. From the opening sounds of a witch’s cackle and storm breaking, the mood is perfectly set for a dark journey that carries you through this well-paced album.

4) Magic Circle – Magic Circle
Boston has always been a town that takes its music seriously, and Magic Circle live up to that rep as one of the best players of traditional doom metal on American soil. You’d never guess these guys all had backgrounds playing hardcore, because they can slow it down with the best of them. The riffs are original and on melodic and the vocals absolutely soar. They keep it interesting, which is important considering their shortest song still clocks in over 5 minutes.

3) Portal – Vexovoid
This may be Portal’s tightest record yet. It’s just as packed full of insanity-inducing riffing and darkness as previous releases, but there’s a more promenant element of melody and structure with these songs. The band has matured, and I find this to be the Portal record I want to listen to the most often.

 

2) Antediluvian ‎– λόγος
These Canadians continue to impress me with their truly prehistoric death metal rumblings. On the one hand, this record is as primitive as they come, the sonic equivalent of being beaten over the skull with a mammoth bone. Yet every time I listen to it, new details emerge and a greater work starts to reveal itself within the chaos. This is the sound of the world before the Great Flood, an evil and reptilian world. Delve into the chaos.

1) Grave Miasma – Odori Sepulcrorum
Occult death metal from the land of Crowley that oozes from your speakers. As the needle glides through the grooves of this vinyl, the room fills with fog and the moon is eclipsed. Pure horror and churning riffs span all three sides of this record, with an etching on side 4. This is the first proper full-length album by these summoners of darkness, and it is a masterpiece.

Hardcore/Punk:

10) Criminal Damage – Call Of Death
Portland’s masters of street punk dropped their 3rd LP this year, and it’s another classic. With an obvious reverence for the bouncy, melodic Oi Punk of bands like Blitz, Criminal Damage write fist-pumping anthems that, while musically sound upbeat, are usually dealing with darker personal politics. Songs like “Hopeless” perfectly demonstrate this combination of well crafted melodic riffs and lyrics that sound like they’re barely holding on in this insane world. This serves as a good reminder of what an excellent PUNK record in 2013 should sound like.

9) Selfish – Life Has No Vacant Time
These Japanese-worshiping Finns took me by surprise with one of the best sounding and most unrelenting records I’ve heard them put out in years. Every member of the band is giving their all, resulting in a record that matches the passion and “burning spirits” energy that is clearly such a huge influence on these guys.

 

8) Una Bèstia Incontrolable ‎– Observant Com El Mon Es Destrueix
I was unsure what to think of this band when I first heard them. I think I was expecting something with the speed and intensity of Glam (with whom they share members), and this band’s mid-paced hardcore left me confused. But the record slowly grew on me, the distinctive swing of the drumming worming it’s way deep in my ear. Then suddenly I was swept away by the primal, animalistic undercurrents and now I can’t get enough.

7) Vaaska / Impalers – Split EP
Two of Austin’s best bands went on tour together this year and released this split. Vaaska’s shredding d-beat and Impalers’ pummeling metal-punk equal two relentless sides of a brutal slab of wax. A special shout-out also goes to the Impalers LP that also dropped this year, which is a must have if you want a larger dose (because I know this EP left me wanting more…)

 

6) Bellicose Minds – The Spine
2012 was the year that “death punk” really broke, and possibly one of the finest examples of the style was executed by the Bellicose Minds on their demo. Now they’ve released a full album of dark melodic post punk. This doesn’t sound like punks trying to play goth, this is an extremely well-crafted and genuine example of what makes this sound so good in the first place.

 

5) Sickoids – No Home
Even though I’m still a little bitter that these guys formed one of the best bands Philly had seen in years and then all moved out of state, I’m still excited to hold this record which may be their best output yet. I was excited to finally have these songs that I’d heard them refine as part of their live set in basements across the city in their final form, screaming from the grooves of the vinyl, drenched in emotion and reverb. Sickoids are a true US Hardcore classic, combining some of the best bits of Midwest hardcore with both east and west coast vibes.

4) Long Knife – Wilderness
I’m ok with the fact that Poison Idea is a shadow of its former self, knowing that Long Knife is out there. Capturing the Poison Idea sound and attitude as well as the ever important sense of humor and willingness to be weird, Long Knife have dished out a hot slab of hardcore that rises above being simply a “worship” record and becomes it’s own beast.

 

3) Sad Boys – Sad Boys / Cry Now Cry Later
Easily two of the most fun records I heard all year. Every time I listen to “Frolic!” I just want to pogo. It’s hard to listen to one of these records and not immediately follow it with the second, so I grouped them together here. These punks know exactly what they’re trying to do and they’re having a blast doing it.

 

2) Kremlin – Drunk In The Gulag
Holy shit this record is good. Canadian d-beat hasn’t sounded this fresh since Inepsy’s first EP, and Kremlin definitely adds their own spin to things for a distinctive sound that I’ve never really heard before. I was sad to hear they played their final show this year, so get your hands on this record and enjoy their final offering.

 

1) Framtid – Defeat of Civilization
Ok, this is what we’ve all been waiting for. Japan’s peace-crust champions drop this bomb of an LP, building on the sound of From the Ashes without departing too far from the formula that makes them one of the most powerful bands in the world right now. This combined with their live set in Tejas made my 2013.