7) Godflesh, A World Lit Only by Fire
Godflesh is probably the perfect industrial metal band. They remind me of the Alien movies, how the future in the eyes of 80s filmmakers were just a bunch of shitty CRTs and Commodore 64s. It sounds like all of the complex technology from a Fear Factory record slowly breaking down over thousands of years. Rather than fields of computers, A World Lit Only By Fire is the aftermath; a bunch of cement mixers churning as they bury the machines that enslaved us.
Key track: “Deadend”
6) Anaal Nathrakh, Desideratum
This is where my comfort zone pretty squarely rests in terms of a lot of extreme stuff. The thing that’s amazing about Anaal Nathrakh is that their songs feel like they’re just on the verge of completely disintegrating into pure noise and incoherence. It’s total sensory overload, and that’s what makes it great.
Key track: “Idol”
5) In The Presence of Wolves, Thalassas
These Jersey dudes gave me something I felt was sorely lacking in 2014 until recently, and that’s really solid progressive rock. “Palladium” could very well be my favorite riff of the year; these guys are putting on a clinic in riffy, jazzy, complex but unpretentious prog, and it’s ONLY THEIR DEBUT. I love it.
Key track: Palladium”
