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Lists of Domination

GD's Top 10 Albums To End A Band's Career

17/09/10 || Global Domination

Introduction by InquisitorGeneralis: How would you like to break up with your beloved spouse or significant other? Would you like to have a quiet conversation over a glass of Pinot Grigot where you reflect on your time together and lament being apart? Or would rather fight like UFC champs, destroy your house, than bone each other’s brains out in a scene of aggressive copulation that would make Ron Jeremy cry like a little bitch and cut his dick off?

Same goes for metal douchebag. When your favorite band is about to check out, you want things to end with a bang, not a fucking whimper. That is just what this here list is all about; the bands that ended awesome careers with awesome records. With all of the reunion and revivals going on these days this list was tougher to put together than you would think, but we are Global D so we had this shit done and had the office filled with dead hookers before lunch. So here you go ladies and germs, the ten best albums that ended a band’s career. What was the criteria? Domination, pure and simple.

Have you ever seen the film “Unforgiven”? In the end, Clint Eastwood’s aging gunfighter gets drunk, goes to town, kills about fifteen people solo, shoots Gene Hackman in the face, and then tells the town if they fuck with him again he will come back and kill everyone, their families, and their dogs. These albums are the musical equivalent of that.

Enjoy, and learn a thing or two about going out in style from these ten musical moneyshots. Just remember to wipe your face when yer done, ok?

10. Carcass: Swansong
^{Released: 1996}

Undoubtedly a band that needs no introduction, the ever evolving sound of Carcass pulled the pin back in 1996 with an album so distanced from their original sound that comparing their debut next to their finale is a pointless exercise. Once the premiere goregrind band, Carcass had since thrown away the medical dictionary that they sourced their lyrics from and drastically altered their song writing to deliver catchy, rock riffs in a style they proclaimed as “rot n’ roll”. From the opening seconds of the first track (“Keep on rotting the free world”) it’s clear that Carcass have set out to deliver a rollicking good time, it’s up beat tempo and catchy riff never fails to bring a smile to my face.

Now I know this is far from their finest effort. I too was a little disappointed the band didn’t deliver another “Heartwork”, one of my favourite albums of all time. And I also know they haven’t been the same since Sanjiv left. But there’s no denying this album’s appeal. Catchy as fuck, with a collection of ace riffs that most bands would sell their arse to be able to write, Carcass may not have delivered the finale we all wanted, but they still gave us an exceptional final album.

-Revenant

9. Assück: Misery index
^{Released: 1997}

GrindcanbefuckinboringImeanhowmanybands
canonelistentothatblasttheshitouttamusicand
screamincomprehensiblyabouthowawful
societycanbethatswhyIlikeAssückbecause
theywereasfastandbrutalasanyothergrindbandbut
theycouldbenuancedtooandextremelysmartwith
theirhopelesslypoliticalgrindandMiseryIndex
issofuckinggooditsonlyfifteenminuteslongbutits
gotmorepunchthanalbumsthriceitslengthandthelyrics
eventhoughyoucannotexactlyunderstandwhatever
itisthatthesingerisrailingagainstaresurprisingly
poeticforsuchaggressiveandconfrontational
musicgringatitsbestthatswhatMiseryIndexisandthen
Assückwentandsplitthatswhatyoushoulddoaftersuchan
apexinyourcareeritwas1997andgrindwouldneverbe
thesameafterwardstheresabandthattookitsnamefrom
thisalbumandIGlovesitsoyoushouldloveAssückand
MiseryIndexokay?

More here.

-Khlysty

8. Gorefest: Rise to ruin
^{Released: 2007}

When thinking back to the release of this album and the band’s eventual breakup, it makes me mad, it makes me sad, it makes me unforgiving. I was just listening to this album a couple days ago, for obvious reasons, and it gives me the same feeling “Those once loyal does”: Boy, this guys really ended it on a high note. I don’t like the production on it as much as other albums in retrospect. It’s not bad, but I tend to hear what people refer to as the “loudness war”. It bothers me more when I listen to it through headphones (the de facto way I listen to music), which I think is supposed to be the reason for this production direction. Anyways, I’m probably talking out of my ass per usual. This album is as solid a collection of tunes as my boner is solid when I’m watching aboriginal Ainu whale porn. Or for a more significant comparison, solid as 12 inch thick titanium.

That Gorefest chose to call it quits some time after the release of this album doesn’t really hurt inside – just like Bolt Thrower. They ended their career on the best possible mark they could, and it’s not like their musical legacy before these is something to scoff at.

-Trauma

7. Dissection: Reinkaos
^{Released: 2006}

An anti-cosmic aural adieu to our world by Jon Nødtveidt, the mastermind behind legendary Swedish death/black metal outfit Dissection. The enigmatic genius gave us some of the finest music ever created with D’s first two albums released in ’93 and ’95, helped kill a guy and got incarcerated in ‘97, got out in ’04, released “Reinkaos” in ’06 and blew his brains out later the same year. Short life, but at least he got something done. Speaking of the records now.

When “Reinkaos” came out, most of us hated it. It didn’t have much to do with Dissection’s former releases in terms of atmosphere, instrumentation, production, riffs, melodies…in short, nothing was like it should. Only Jon’s vocals displayed the same hateful potency and aggressive, edgy articulation as before. We were expecting a “Storm of the Light’s Bane – Part II”, but instead we got something that was easy-listening, ear-friendly, rockish and, well, lame. I was so disappointed that I almost put the album in the same category as “Load”, the greatest let-down of my life. Commence plan “Gather Dust In CD Shelf”.

Two years later: commence plan “Give It A Second Chance”. Reaction: Fuck me sideways. This is excellent. This is catchy. This gets me air drumming. This rocks my socks off. Commence plan “WHAT THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED”. Turns out that when not being viewed as an immediate continuation of “SotLB”, “Reinkaos” delivers fantastic dark and melodic heavy metal with a blackened aura. The production is punchy with a clearly audible bass (plus points) and every song has its golden moments. Now, looking back on it with some distance, it only seems appropriate that Jon let the underlying classic heavy metal influences that were found aplenty on both “The Somberlain” and “SotLB” rise to the forefront and be displayed in their full glory. “Reinkaos” is a worthy ending to the tri-fold legacy left for us to enjoy by one of the greatest composers and musicians in extreme metal history.

-CadenZ

6. Coroner: Grin
^{Released: 1993}

Often shunned as a departure from tried and tested Thrash roots towards “groove metal”, Coroner’s “Grin” indeed holds a special place in their discography. When I hear “groove metal” though (does this even constitute a genre?), I think of Pantera and the shitload of bands that tried to replicate their sound in one way or another. And while definitely gettin’ down with the groove on “Grin”, Coroner never sounded or tried to sound like Pantera, but took their music a different and unique direction from the rest of the pack. At least in my book, Coroner had always been less about being thrash by principle, but instead about progression and versatility anyway. Can a better last point be made about this than “Grin”? Probably not. Looking at it within the band’s array of releases, it’s almost a logical (last) step forward towards a sound of their very own and a great closing chapter to a flawless discography.

The three Swiss dudes tightly work together like the proverbial clockwork (which is also the name of guitarist Tommi Vetterli’s follow-up project which never got past its first demo), and construct a mixture of seemingly simple yet razor-sharp riffing, mechanical beats and cyclic chants that give this album a very modern, timeless feel. “Grin” might as well have been released sometime post-2000 instead of 1993, because it doesn’t follow any typical style – it just creates its own. Of course, within that lies the possibility of not appealing to the traditional Thrash crowd. Hence, you probably wouldn’t have a hard time finding bad reviews about this – but since when was metal about pleasing everyone anyway? Whassat? Oh yeah right, Sonic Syndicate.

-Habakuk

5. Zyklon: Disintegrate
^{Released: 2006}

By the time I came to fully understand the awesomeness of Zyklon, they were done. Such is life. These offensively-named skullcrushers from the wooded winter waterways of Norway had been crafting their black/death/odd methodology since 1998, and in 2006 released this absolute monster upon an unsuspecting Earth. Is it as awesome as “Aeon”? Maybe not. But it features plenty of that unique shit the band dispenses so well. Blasting. Death. Experimentation. All delivered with a high level of class, flawless musicianship, and a decimating vocal performance. What stands out for me is the variety of pain served up by da ‘Klon throughout – the groove-heavy title track and “Ways of the world”. The breakneck “Vulture”. The utter culmination of awesome genre mash-up metal that is “Cold grave”. If you require a lesson in clinical, violent, and inspired modern metal, you need this. Way to go out with a bang, gang, and may you all put out side albums with the dizzying frequency of the Wu-Tang Clan. Which is the only time you’ll hear Zyklon and Staten Island’s finest mentioned in the same sentence. Wait, it just happened again.

-Daemonomania

4. Refused: The shape of punk to come
^{Released: 1986}

Refused were a fucken great Swedish punk band. Their intelligent blend of punk mentality, and talented musicianship was truly genius. “The Sound Of Punk To Come” showcases them at their finest. I challenge YOU to sit through songs like “Liberation Frequency” or the explosive “New Noise” and not feel ready to fuck shit up. Despite the band’s sound being routed firmly in punk rock, they didn’t let the conforms of punk music box them in. Instead they embraced a new mentality, they broadened out their music to include influences from jazz, electronic music, and classical. The philosophy of the album, shown in the liner notes and in the lyrics of “New Noise”, was that punk and hardcore music could not be anti-establishment by continuing to package revolutionary lyrics in sounds which had been increasingly absorbed into the mainstream, and thats exactly what Refused accomplished. The record’s sounds are ‘punk’ at a fundamental level, but the band never sounds like Green Day or Clit-182.

The album’s title (a play on the amazing “The Shape of Jazz to Come”) Has been hugely influential in the punk, metal, and hardcore genres. Even fucken Anthrax has covered “New Noise”. My first exposure to this record was through the excellent video game “Tony Hawks Underground”. My friends and I spent about 3 hours a day for a whole vacation just jamming out to “New Noise” and playing video games. When I finally grew up, I set out to find the record that song was on. You can imagine my initial disappointment that the songs I loved so much were on the bands final album. I’ve grown to love this record and many of the bands that influenced its creation.

REFUSED ARE FUCKING DEAD!

-Butt-Beard

3. Bolt Thrower: Those once loyal
^{Released: 2005}

I am not so sure that “Those once loyal” will actually be the last studio effort from one of the greatest death metal bands ever – Bolt Thrower. At the time of this list being completed, that’s what they have been saying for a year or 2 now though, so based on that there is no other way but to include this gigantic piece of brutality and awesomeness here. With the best production the Brits ever had, “Those once loyal” carries on in the usual Bolt Thrower footsteps, meaning they churn out the heaviest of death metal with an insane amount of groovetastic riffs and the excellent vocals courtesy of Mr. Willetts. Princess Johanna Bench’s bass has never been so up-front (and the fucken sound is to die for! Much like Johanna herself) which further adds to the domination present on this here recording.

While writing this coverage I felt the urge to go back and see what I wrote about “TOL” in the regular review some years back. The first thing that absolutely shocked me is the fact that this gem is fucken 5 years old! Talk about an album that’s stood the test of time. It sounds as fantastic today as it did upon being released. I also pretty much bring up the same things in this coverage as I did in the review, only this is the fast version of the same race. The 8,5 out of 10 I gave it back in 2005 is still very valid, and coming from me – that high a score says a fucken lot.

If this eventually ends up to actually be the final record from these legends, Bolt Thrower’s discography shall always be viewed upon as the blueprint for death metal. Bolt Thrower have their own sound that many bands have tried to copy over the years – let it be known that they failed, each and every one of them.

I fucken love this band.

-Lord K. Philipson

2. Death: The sound of perseverance
^{Released: 1998}

My aeternal manlove for Chuck Schuldiner is no secret around here. The dude was tits and with his pet band Death released a slew of records that would define and perfect an entire genre. Amazingly the band’s last record, one that Chuck did to fill obligations to Nuclear Blast before moving on with Control Denied, is arguably the band’s best. Just listen to the beginning of “Flesh and the power it holds” and you will realize that this record is something special. The musicianship, the songwriting, the production; all are perfect. Each and every song has a distinct feel and style. “Scavenger of human sorrow”, “Bite the pain”, and “To forgive is suffer” are all heavier, more aggressive tracks while “Spirit crusher” and the epic “A moment of clarity” go down a more progressive path. Oh, and there is a little instrumental called “Voice of the soul” that we picked as the best of all fucken time a little while back. The solo and middle section of the masterpiece “Spirit crusher” alone makes “The Sound of Perseverance” worth the price of admission. If we ever do a “best choruses” list, Dah Crusher is getting my vote for sure.

The bittersweet side of “The Sound of Perseverance” is the what ifs. Where would Death have gone after Chuck got Control Denied out of his system? Still dominating is my guess. I love this record. It still sounds creative and inventive twelve years later. Every current metal band that fashions themselves as technical or progressive is pretty much just copying Death and “The Sound of Perseverance” in one form or another.

Sadly, we all know that all good things must come to an end. Death’s end was fantastic. It is, and always will be, one of my absolute favorite albums.

-InquisitorGeneralis

1. At The Gates: Slaughter of the soul
^{Released: 1995}

All, except for a single piercing ray of light coming from an undetermined origin, of the interrogation room at the Global Domination HQ was cast in darkness. Sitting in the blinding gaze of said light, was Slaughtie. Slaughtie is of course known to all of us, by his infamous full title; “Slaughter of the soul”. He earned this ominous nickname by being just that. For two decades he has roamed the world of metal, killing its soul almost wherever his foot set. He always escaped us, us to whom the responsibility hath fallen to protect that what be holiest, the spirit of metal. For long we underestimated his clever ways, for he is a cunning conman. As a man of many an expertise, he mastered the ways of hiding in plain sight. Under the cover of an arsenal of thin masks, he successfully paraded the most horrendous of his plots under our very noses. But no more! We have discovered how he secretly joined the core-gangs, took reign and led this abomination to power, rivaling the very might of the old ones. We have dissected many of the secret identities he assumed during the years, amongst them ravenous soulkillers like Avenger (the one who murders in sevens), Bullet (the man behind the yearly valentine massacres) and August (who is guilty of countless cases of arson around the globe). Here he was now, in our clutches, and this time he was not going to get away!

-Look here, Slaughtie, you stand accused! What do you have to say for yourself? I asked. This was the mistake I made, for I should never have allowed him to open that wretched mouth of his. After merely a few seconds of hesitation, the static noise, that he had started emanating, ended and he spoke in the most convincing of riffs. He told me I was blinded by the world, and by Chthulhu, I believed him! By the time I realized what was happening, he had already vanished in our own shadows and slipped through our defenses. Damn you, “Slaughter of the soul”, you magnificent bastard!

-MikzorTheFirst

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