____








____



____
REVIEWS
NEW UPDATES
THE BLOG
THE DEMO CORNER
REVIEWS
INTERVIEWS
MOVIE REVIEW
STAFF TOP TEN PICKS
STAFF TOP TEN PICKS
STAFF TOP TEN PICKS
Though perhaps paying too much homage to Consuming Impulse, On Pestilent Winds... is nonetheless a full-throttle assault and a welcome example of death metal in a more primal form.  With offensively bad “technical brutal death metal” saturating the scene, a band with such integrity that can get your head banging is a rare gem.
Excoriate - On Pestilent Winds…
10
BAND'S WEBSITE
Kalevala - Kukushkini Deti
9
MYSPACE
BAND'S WEBSITE
Sophomore album from Russia’s Kalevala continues their tradition of captivatingly written and flawlessly executed folk metal.  Kukushkini Deti doesn’t match the debut, but it unequivocally solidifies Kalevala’s well-earned place at the top of the genre.
Funebrarum - The Sleep of Morbid Dreams
8
MYSPACE
BAND'S WEBSITE
Funebrarum aren’t out to break new ground, but this ferocious slab of death metal in the New York tradition preserves that legacy with class.  With its relentless energy and sharp songcraft, The Sleep of Morbid Dreams is the most aggressive and intense forty minutes of music recorded this year.
The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite
7
MYSPACE (FANS)
Germany’s one-man project The Ruins of Beverast shed the more derivative aspects of their prior releases in the most surprising success of the year.  Intimidating in scope, Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite is an epic and evocative masterpiece of operatic black/doom metal.
Giant Squid - The Ichthyologist
6
MYSPACE
BAND'S WEBSITE
While most metal labeled “progressive” today is anything but, Giant Squid thoroughly earn that label with this ambitious work.  In the best tradition of King Crimson and In the Woods, The Ichthyologist is a resonating, meditative work, ambitious in scope and unparalleled in style.
Portal - Swarth
5
MYSPACE
BAND'S WEBSITE
Portal have finally mastered their style in this journey into a black hole.  Suffocating and harrowing, Swarth sees Portal honing their aesthetic techniques while mastering their art of maddening death metal.
The Chasm - Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm
2
BAND'S WEBSITE
Never disappointing, The Chasm release another album in their flawless discography, pushing their trademarked riff-intensive and atmospheric death metal to new and transcendent dimensions.
Havohej - Kembatinan Premaster
4
MYSPACE
Paul Ledney’s again defines a sonic template for black metal in his latest monstrosity, an album of utter madness and unapologetic fury.  With newfound vitriol Havohej deconstruct the riff and black metal as a style, resulting in “ambient black metal” as never heard before.
Beherit - Engram
3
BAND'S WEBSITE
Beherit’s long-awaited return is the best “comeback” album in recent memory, a brilliant utilization of ambient music techniques in their imitable hateful black metal style.  Engram is a haunting masterpiece and a reinvigoration of the genre they helped pioneer.
Ulcerate - Everything is Fire
1
MYSPACE
BAND'S WEBSITE
Ulcerate’s mind-bending sophomore album defines new outer limits of brutality, technicality, and atmosphere.  A landmark release of nihilistic death metal, Everything Is Fire twists its way under your skin and rots your core.
2009
Matt
Administrator, Editor in Chief, Interviewer, and Movie Reviewer
YEAR END REVIEW
Pestilence - Resurrection Macabre
BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
2009
2009
Please check out my full review by clicking on the album artwork to the left.
Please check out my full review by clicking on the album artwork to the left.
Please check out my full review by clicking on the album artwork to the left.
Please check out my full review by clicking on the album artwork to the left.
Please check out my full review by clicking on the album artwork to the left.
I was more disappointed by Immortal’s tepid All Shall Fall, but looking at it objectively I suppose my expectations were unrealistic.  Immortal hadn’t been at the top of their game for the two albums prior to their dissolution, so it should have come as no surprise to me that they didn’t step up their game for their reunion.

Pestilence’s parting of ways, on the other hand, left behind an unbroken line of genre-defining classics. And though  Martin Van Drunen was conspicuously absent from the reformed Pestilence, one had to hope that this legendary band would release something worthy of their name. 
Compiling a list of the Top 10 releases in a year is a daunting task for any reviewer.  Without the benefit of hindsight, The sheer impossibility of listening to every album released in a given year makes it challenging to compile a list with any semblance of authority, and reconciling one’s personal taste with an album’s less obviously subjective traits (composition, relevance, staying power) without the benefit of hindsight often renders Top 10 lists hopelessly arbitrary.  Significantly complicating this task this year were a slew of high profile releases dominating the metal press (Suffocation, Nile) and much publicized comebacks by legendary classic acts (Immortal, Asphyx, Pestilence, Beherit).  But despite of (or perhaps because of) the imminent oversaturation of notable trends (folk metal and deathcore being the most prominent examples), black metal and death metal fully delievered this year, resulting in a Top 10 teeming with brilliance from some of metal’s most reliable acts.  Truly one of the best years for extreme metal and metal as a whole, 2009 will be remembered as a year where limits were broken and genres were redefined.  Amidst a seemingly endless barrage of the latest trends and half-baked comebacks, these are the artists that this year stood defiant and true.
Please check out my full review by clicking on the album artwork to the left.
All content © 2013 Metal Psalter Webzine  |  Bands, labels, artists and photographers retain their respective © to their logos, artwork and photos  |  Design and Layout © 2013 Dynamico Designs
TO THE TOP
Please check out Chris' full review by clicking on the album artwork to the left.
STAFF TOP 10 LISTS
Jesse: 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
M.J.: 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
J.A. Burt: 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Peter: 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Rottenbucher: 2008 2009 2010 2011
                               2012
Chris: 2009 2010 2011 2012
Roswell47: 2010 2011 2012
Phil A. Wickstrand: 2010 2011 2012
Garett: 2010 2011 2012
Greg: 2010 2011
Lynora: 2009 2010
The Stream: 2009 2010
Deathstalker: 2009
Ilmarinen:  2008
Matt:  2008  2009
Kesh:  2009
Dinah:  2009
Phil A.:  2009

































*By clicking "Submit" you agree to the following Terms of Use. You agree not to post any material that is obscene, slanderous, or threatening, or that may violate any law of your country of origin or the United States or of international law. Should you wish to restrict viewing of your email address by third parties, you must select "Hide My Email." You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Metal Psalter from any claims, actions, suits, damages, or other costs arising out of any breach of these Terms of Use.
*Comments: