JOHN FRANK'S

TOP RELEASES OF 2000

2000 was a disappointing year in metal for me.  Many groups I once held in high esteem (Armored Saint, Dark Tranquillity, Encryption, Fall of the Leafe, Haggard, The Haunted, In Flames, Neglected Fields, Night In Gales, Paradox, Pitchshifter, Sinergy, Skyclad, and Steel Prophet) released subpar CDs.  During the past year, I spent more time tracking down and listening to obscure releases from the late 80's - early 90's than getting into most of the new releases I bought.  I had trouble coming up with enough releases I thought worthy of a top 10 list.  As it is, the bottom four or five discs on this year's list certainly would not have made last year's top 10.

The continued resurgence of interest in 80's metal leaves me with mixed emotions.  It has led to welcomed comebacks by many classic groups.  This year's comebacks included Armored Saint, Destruction, Incubus (now Opprobrium), Nocturnus, and Paradox.  However, of these, only Destruction worked for me.  In fact, of all the bands that resurfaced over the past few years, the only ones that I was not disappointed with were Artillery, Pariah (just recorded together - did not reform the group), and Destruction.

The huge popularity of 80's inspired power metal groups is a double edged sword (glory to the brave, my viking warriors... oops, sorry) as well.  I am a big fan of the 80's sound in general as I still listen to groups like Dio, Chastain, Liege Lord, Helstar, etc.  However, it seems like the vast majority of power metal groups currently out there have little of the skill and none of the originality of these "classic" bands.  The only power metal bands I end up liking are those like Destiny's End or New Eden that minimize the cheesiness and have more complex music.

The fascination with the 80's has also brought metal fans the blackened retro-thrash subgenre.  I am all for seeing a resurgence of thrash (my favorite metal subgenre), so I am interested when groups like Ritual Carnage, Carnal Forge, Indungeon, Witchery, Defleshed, and The Crown release new discs.  However, I never end up listening to them all that often.  I miss the finesse and complexity of groups like older Testament and Forbidden.  Even current traditional thrash groups like Imagika usually don't do much for me.

In 2000, we also saw the continued decline of the blackened melodic death subgenre.  Founding fathers like In Flames and Dark Tranquillity have run out of ideas and released average CDs as did many of the newer groups in the genre such as Night In Gales, Fall of the Leafe, and Encryption.  I hope that the remaining active bands that I like such as Without Grief, Soilwork, and Auberon can carry the torch for this subgenre which invigorated my interest in metal in the late 90's.

On a positive note, 2000 was a terrific year for tech and truly progressive metal.  Spiral Architect's debut CD was released, and it is worthy of sitting with the giants of tech metal, Watchtower and Cynic.  Martyr also released an excellent slab of technical death metal, and Gracepoint showed everyone what progressive metal should be like.  We even saw a great progressive death metal release by Symbyosis.  To top it off, we learned of the reformations of the classic tech metal groups Watchtower and Atheist!  An excellent year for intelligent and complex metal.  Which leads me to my top release of 2000...

#1
SPIRAL ARCHITECT - A SCEPTIC'S UNIVERSE

A release like this comes along once in a decade.  Watchtower - Control and Resistance came out in 1989, Cynic - Focus came out in 1993, and now we have Spiral Architect in 2000.  A Sceptic's Universe is a landmark CD in tech metal.  All of the band members are very skilled musicians, and each song showcases all of the instruments.  The music is incredibly complex yet very listenable and catchy.  The Psychotic Waltz like vocals actually add to the songs as opposed to most tech
vocals which merely exist but do not enhance the music.  This CD will easily make my top 20 of all time.

#2
NIGHTWISH - WISHMASTER

As I stated in my top 10 of 1999, Tarja has the most beautiful voice I have ever heard in metal, and the somewhat symphonic power metal music of Nightwish is the perfect complement to her enchanting soprano melodies.  In a time of so many bands losing their touch, it is encouraging to see a band like Nightwish improve with every release.  Wishmaster is more musically complex than its predecessors yet still retains all of the band's patented catchy keyboard melodies, driving guitars and drums, and, of course, the amazing vocals.  This evolution is most clearly evident on the last track, FantasMic.  Nightwish is not immune to the shortcomings of the power metal genre.  Their music is not technically brilliant and can be cheesy to some people.  However, I can't get enough of them.

#3
MARTYR - WARP ZONE

The other very impressive tech metal release of 2000 was provided by Martyr.  Warp Zone is a definite improvement on their first CD, Hopeless Hopes (a great release in its own right).  The latter
day Death influence is still present, but a significant Meshuggah sound has entered the mix along Jarzombek riffs and the occasional James Murphy-ism.  Normally, the Meshuggah influence would be a problem for me as I find their music too discordant to get into.  However, Martyr maintains listenability and catchiness throughout their very involved songs.  This release has some of the most impressive guitar riffs and drumming I have ever heard in technical death metal.  Theory in Practice are really the only current group that can even approach this level of execution.  Tech metal seems to have a bright future.

#4
GRACEPOINT - SCIENCE OF DISCONTENT

This is what progressive metal should be like.  No sappy wailings, cheesy keyboard runs, and simplistic riffs.  Gracepoint are about as heavy as the average power metal band minus any synthesizers, but have a rawer, chugging guitar sound to them perhaps like a less freaked out Thought Industry. Their singer sounds a lot like John Bush from Armored Saint and Anthrax but also possesses an alternative sound similar to Stone Temple Pilot's vocalist at times. A decent amount of time changes and an occasional nod to the Watchtower sound are apparent on most songs.  The musicianship is excellent, and the songs are catchy.  It is hard to adequately describe Science of Discontent because it is relatively unique.  A very refreshing release.  They are even from my home state of Minnesota!  Check them out at www.gracepointmusic.com.

#5
QUO VADIS - DAY INTO NIGHT

Quo Vadis have improved considerably from their debut disc and have put out one hell of a collection of thrashy death metal tunes.  They have a great sense for melodic hooks and catchy riffing.  I guess the closest reference would be Neglected Fields - Synthinity and latter day Death, but Quo Vadis has their own sound.  The first four songs are extremely tight and engaging.  Their only downside is that some of the melodies are similar.  As the CD progresses, their sound becomes more diverse and alternatively more and less complex, depending on the song.  This is recommended to all fans of catchy, somewhat complex thrash and death metal.  Most impressive.

#6
DESTRUCTION - ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE

An excellent comeback.  Destruction took their classic thrash sound and gave it a new twist.  This is not as good as Release from Agony, but it is a very good true thrash release in a time of little quality thrash.  The crunchy riffs and driving double bass drumming truly is music to my thrash-starved ears.  I even end up singing along with the incredibly cheesy lyrics such as "The butcher strikes back... devastating thrash attack."  It truly brings me back to a kinder, gentler time in metal when thrash was king.  Works for me. Unfortunately, the CD does fade in quality as it progresses, and there are a few filler songs.  However, there are enough galloping riffs present to keep this old thrasher thoroughly entertained.

#7
NEVERMORE - DEAD HEART IN A DEAD WORLD

I don't have much to say about Nevermore's latest release.  I do not like it nearly as much as their previous two discs, but a band this good is still engaging even when they are not at their best.  Dead Heart in a Dead World is moodier and a bit slower than their previous work.  I guess it has some of the feel of their debut disc which I did not like too much.  However, strangely enough for me, some of the midpaced, moodier songs on this disc are my favorites.  I wish Nevermore would have come out with something a bit different, but I will definitely still be listening to them.

#8
SYMBYOSIS - CRISIS

A reviewer stated that he thought Symbyosis' sound is akin to Dream Theater playing black metal.  I would tend to agree as long as it is Dream Theater circa When Dream and Day Unite, and you include
melodic death into the mix.  The definition of progressive death metal, Symbyosis incorporate atmospheric keyboard runs, quickly changing guitar riffs, distorted blackened vocals, and, yes, drum programming to create a relatively intricate and unique sound.  Virtually none of the riffs are vey technical, but the many time changes create complex songs.  The use of the drum machine works for me except for the cymbal sound which can be annoying at times.  This is strongly recommended for those of you who want to hear something a bit out of the ordinary.

#9
GARDEN OF SHADOWS - ORACLE MOON

Garden of Shadows is a great mixture of Opeth, Death, and Without Grief.  The music is very atmospheric with keyboards in the background and many mid-paced and slower doomy riffs.  However, enough of the music is uptempo which keeps the listener from wallowing in a pit of despair for too long.  The traditional death metal vocals do not add to the songs, but they do not detract from them either.  I really appreciate this release because it helps to fill two musical voids for me.  I did not like Opeth - Still Life that much, and Oracle is more similar to My Arms, Your Hearse (with less acoustic work).  In addition, Garden of Shadows gave me hope that melodic death is not dead yet.

#10
THRONE OF CHAOS - MENACE AND PRAYER

To my knowledge, Children of Bodom has not sued Throne of Chaos yet.  That's kind of hard to believe since Throne of Chaos is almost a complete clone of the Children.  They have the same vocals, keyboard runs, catchy guitar riffs.  Some melodies on Menace and Prayer are lifted directly from Hatebreeder.  I am mildly ashamed to have this release in my top 10, but I guess I prefer a band ripping off the style of a great band like Children of Bodom to the many bands out there worshipping Helloween and Yngwie Malmsteen.  I hope these guys develop more of their own sound because they definitely seem to have the required musical skills.  I look forward to hearing their next release.
 

Return