Tag Archives: infernäl mäjesty

The Year In Review – Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2017

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“We sort of find that music tames the beast, you know.” – Malcom Young

It’s that wonderful time of the year again, and I’m obviously not talking about Christmas and the holiday season. In a year where we lost so many talented and important musicians in rock and heavy music for various reasons, including Malcolm Young (AC/DC), Chris Cornell (Soundgarden), Chester Bennington (Linkin Park), Trish Doan (Kittie), Martin Eric Ain (Celtic Frost), Warrel Dane (Nevermore, Sanctuary), John Wetton (Uriah Heep), David Zablidowsky (Adrenaline Mob, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), Chuck Mosley (Faith No More) and Cherry Taketani (Okotô, Hellsakura, NervoChaos), among several others, not to mention the end of the unmatched Black Sabbath, who we were able to witness live one last time during their farewell tour The End, only the freshness and energy flowing from brand new metal music can give us hope, not allowing Heavy Metal and Rock N’ Roll to die as many like to prophesy every single year.

Having said that, it’s time to blow our goddamn speakers with The Headbanging Moose’s Top 10 Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Albums of 2017, excluding EP’s, best of’s and live albums, taming the beast inside us all as wisely said by AC/DC’s heart and soul Malcolm Young (R.I.P.). And as 2017 was the year of bands that cannot be considered dinosaurs in metal (or at least not yet), such as Trivium and Mastodon, that certainly points to a bright future ahead for Heavy Metal with their recent releases because, as you know, we won’t have behemoths like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Metallica kicking ass on stage forever. By the way, this was definitely a fantastic year for Mastodon, who not only released one of the best albums of 2017, the excellent Emperor of Sand, but they also had some extra energy to burn with the classy EP Cold Dark Place, which by the way is part of our top 10 EP’s of the year (as you’ll see after our top 10/20 list). Alright, without further ado, turn up the volume and enjoy our 2017 list… LET THERE BE ROCK!

1. Trivium – The Sin and the Sentence (REVIEW)
A superb album full of fast and intricate riffs, poetic lyrics, a sensational new drummer and, above all, the return of Matt’s trademark screams.
Best song of the album: Betrayer

2. Kreator – Gods Of Violence (REVIEW)
We shall praise the best Teutonic Thrash Metal institution of all time, as the gods of violence come alive.
Best song of the album: Totalitarian Terror

3. Blaze Bayley – Endure And Survive (REVIEW)
The indomitable Blaze Bayley returns with the second installment of Infinite Entanglement, his most ambitious project to date.
Best song of the album: Blood

4. Mastodon – Emperor of Sand (REVIEW)
Follow the inspirational story of a desert wanderer who has been handed a death sentence in this excellent album of Progressive Metal.
Best song of the album: Word to the Wise

5. Accept – The Rise of Chaos (REVIEW)
Let total chaos and destruction rise to the sound of the brand new album by the unstoppable Teutonic masters of Heavy Metal.
Best song of the album: Analog Man

6. Moonspell – 1755 (REVIEW)
An orchestral and emotional concept album that will take you to the year when a giant earthquake destroyed the city of Lisbon.
Best song of the album: Todos Os Santos

7. Striker – Striker (REVIEW)
Canadian Heavy Metal has never been more vibrant and rapturous than this.
Best song of the album: Born To Lose

8. Divine Element – Thaurachs Of Borsu (REVIEW)
Witness the passage of a soldier through various levels of consciousness about the reality of war and human society.
Best song of the album: Thaurachs Of Borsu

9. Torture Squad – Far Beyond Existence (REVIEW)
Don’t cross the path of one of the most respectful bands from the Brazilian Thrash and Death Metal scene.
Best song of the album: Blood Sacrifice

10. Solitary – The Diseased Heart of Society (REVIEW)
Four veteran thrash metallers canalizing all the hatred, degradation and perversions of our modern-day society into their music.
Best song of the album: Architects of Shame

And here we have the runner-ups, completing the top 20 for the year:

11. Karkaos – Children Of The Void (REVIEW)
12. Prometheus – Consumed In Flames (REVIEW)
13. Battle Beast – Bringer Of Pain (REVIEW)
14. Terrifier – Weapons of Thrash Destruction (REVIEW)
15. Body Count – Bloodlust (REVIEW)
16. Dzö-nga – The Sachem’s Tales (REVIEW)
17. Cradle of Filth – Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay (REVIEW)
18. Cannibal Corpse – Red Before Black (REVIEW)
19. Infernäl Mäjesty – No God (REVIEW)
20. Katharos XIII – Negativity (REVIEW)

As aforementioned, we also have for you this year our Top 10 EP’s of 2017, ranging from the most rebellious form of Deathcore to the most melodic type of Symphonic Metal, from visceral Doom Metal to demonic Black Metal, and so on. In addition, those bands hail from all four corner of the earth, proving once again that it doesn’t matter where you go you’ll always be able to find first-class metal music, including all of its genres and subgenres, to please your avid metallic ears.

1. Primal Age – A Silent Wound (REVIEW)
2. Sinners Moon – Far Beyond The Stars (REVIEW)
3. Aversio Humanitatis – Longing for the Untold (REVIEW)
4. Loathfinder – The Great Tired Ones (REVIEW)
5. Ljosazabojstwa – Sychodžańnie (REVIEW)
6. Lorn – Arrayed Claws (REVIEW)
7. Jupiter Hollow – Odyssey (REVIEW)
8. Dö – Astral: Death/Birth (REVIEW)
9. Mastodon – Cold Dark Place (REVIEW)
10. Afire – Afire (REVIEW)

Do you agree with our list? What are your top 10 albums of 2017? If you want to check another awesome list, I highly recommend Antichrst Magazine’s Top 10 Albums of 2017 (Editorial Staff), a great online publication that we at The Headbanging Moose also contribute to on a regular basis. Also, don’t forget to tune in to Timão Metal every Tuesday on Rádio Coringão for a blazing fusion of metal and soccer, and to The Headbanging Moose Show every Thursday on Midnight Madness Metal e-Radio for the best of underground metal from all over the world!

Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year! See you in 2018!

Actually, before all is said and done, here’s for you the 2017 Christmas single from Norwegian Melodic Power Metal project Aldaria called When The Time Has Come, featuring several renowned guest musicians such as Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), Yannis Papadopoulos (Beast In Black),  Lars Rettkowitz (Freedom Call) and Morten Gade Sørensen (Pyramaze), among others, with 100% of all income of this single being donated to Cancer Research. “This is a very important cause for me, as I lost my mother to this horrible disease in 2010. The single will be available across all streaming and digital platforms, and on Aldaria’s official webstore, where you will get a special edition with a lossless audio file, instrumental, high resolution cover art, and lyrics”, commented guitarist Frode Hovd, the mastermind behind Aldaria. Let’s all support such important cause!

Album Review – Infernäl Mäjesty / No God (2017)

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A powerful album of Canadian Thrash and Death Metal that confirms there’s no god in our decaying world, but only an infernal majesty of extreme music reigning supreme among us.

Formed in the distant year of 1986 in the city of Toronto, Canada, but currently located on the opposite side of the country, in the beautiful city of Vancouver, Thrash/Death Metal squad Infernäl Mäjesty has been unleashing complex and exciting metal tunes upon humanity since their inception, starting with their 24-track demo recorded at the renowned Metalworks Studios in Toronto (owned by members of Canadian Hard Rock band Triumph) and their 1987 debut album None Shall Defy, and culminating with the release of their brand new opus now in 2017 titled No God.

Featuring an elegant cover art by Safir & Rifas (based on their 2014 oil on canvas art named “Death Angel”), No God offers the listener 11 imposing thrash tunes for the delight of fans of the heaviness and aggressiveness of giants such as Slayer, Behemoth and Testament, masterfully played by founding members Chris Bailey (vocals), Steve Terror (guitar) and Kenny Hallman (guitar), together with newcomers Daniel Nargang on bass and Kiel T. Wilson on drums. “We put a lot into it physically and mentally and feel it has a classic Infernäl Mäjesty undertone while artfully expanding into episodes of melodic cacophony. Recorded at our studio in Vancouver, Canada and produced by Steve Terror, Chris Bailey and Ken Hallman, we enrolled the masterful mixing skills of Chris ”Hollywood” Holmes and believe this to be our best works since None Shall Defy”, says the band about their brand new spawn.

Chris and his horde begin their ominous attack from the very first second of the belligerent tune Enter The World Of The Undead, where we’re furiously invited to enter their world of Thrash and Death Metal to the sound of the cutting riffs by Steve and Kenny, while Kiel keeps up with the legacy of iconic drummers such as Dave Lombardo, Gene Hoglan and Tom Hunting. Dark and acrid words flow from Chris’ visceral growls in the rhythmic onslaught of extreme music called In God You Trust, also presenting a hellish aura in the background which ends up enhancing the song’s obscurity; followed by a very aggressive and infernal composition named Signs Of Evil, displaying a similar pattern than both previous songs, with highlights to the unstoppable Kiel behind his drums and to the once again sharp guitar riffs and solos by Steve and Kenny. And in Another Day in Hell the music feels like it’s rising from the pits of the underworld, with the initial roar by Chris being a sign of how heavy this tune will be. Not only it brings an old school sonority the likes of Unleashed, but its calmer but blackened breaks make the whole composition even more menacing.

Kingdom Of Heaven, a mid-tempo straightforward Death Metal chant with thrashing elements added to it, presents a neck-breaking start with lots of groove emanating from Kiel’s drumming, while Steve, Kenny and Daniel slash our skin with their razor-edged strings, whereas the title-track No God is a blasphemous feast of Death and Thrash Metal perfect for their live performances, with Chris vociferating the song’s wicked lyrics manically (“Born of fire from the starless depths of hell / The red cross turns black so many dead sent up the stacks / Spill the blood of virtue for the empire of gold / Satan laughing defecating into open mouths below”), therefore being one of the strongest compositions of the whole album. Then we have an eerie instrumental track about the 9/11 attacks titled False Flag for Europe, paving the path for the rhythmic Nation of Assassins, starting in a darker and heavier pace before exploding into a thrilling hurricane of metal, with Chris darkly screaming the song’s name while the rest of the band blasts a very cohesive fusion of Thrash and Death Metal.

The killer drumming by Kiel and the straightforward guitars by both Steve and Kenny are all Chris needs to fire his infuriated growls in the fantastic House Of War, with the aggressiveness of the entire song being way above average. All band members are absolutely on fire, delivering an intricate but always crude and primeval hymn for admirers of traditional Death Metal that has all it takes to become an underground classic. Systematical Extermination keeps the quality of the album at a very good level, albeit being less creative than the others (it might have been more effective if it was a little shorter, though), while in Extinction Level Event a truly macabre intro morphs into a pounding sonic devastation. Steve and Kenny continue with their merciless slashing, also blasting melodious lines to give more balance to all the havoc going on, with Kiel helping Chris to poetically scream about the end of mankind until the song’s somber ending.

Infernäl Mäjesty is another one of those amazing bands that makes us proud of being Canadian, and if I were you I would certainly like their Facebook page, listen to more of their demonic Thrash Metal at their YouTube channel and at their BandCamp page (where No God will be available soon), and grab your copy of No God at the High Roller Records’ webstore in different formats (CD digipak, LP black, LP splatter and LP royal blue), at the Napalm Records’ webstore, at the Season of Mist’s webstore, at Target, at Record Shop X, on Amazon and several other locations (please note that “False Flag for Europe” and “House Of War” are on the CD and digital download, but not on the vinyl edition because they are already on a custom House Of War 7”). After listening to this raging lecture of Extreme Metal, I’m more than inclined to believe there’s no god, but only an infernal majesty of metal music reigning supreme among us.

Best moments of the album: Enter The World Of The Undead, No God and House Of War.

Worst moments of the album: Systematical Extermination.

Released in 2017 High Roller Records

Track listing
1. Enter The World Of The Undead 5:44
2. In God You Trust 5:14
3. Signs Of Evil 4:53
4. Another Day in Hell 6:37
5. Kingdom Of Heaven 6:46
6. No God 5:58
7. False Flag for Europe 2:05
8. Nation of Assassins 6:24
9. House Of War 4:47
10. Systematical Extermination 6:28
11. Extinction Level Event 6:08

Band members
Chris Bailey – vocals
Steve Terror – guitar
Kenny Hallman – guitar
Daniel Nargang – bass
Kiel T. Wilson – drums