Welcome to this second episode of the Halifax Collect's Writers and Friends Records Of The Year! There will be a few installments, such as this one, leading up to the ever so bad ass RECORD OF THE Year 2010 READERS' CHOICE announcement, coming up afterwards in January. The crown is sponsored by the fine folks as A389 Records, Abyss Records and Design By Micha. Click their names right now and dart over to their respected websites! 
CARRION SPRING - 2010 Demo Two songs, seven-and-a-half minutes, and about of the best damn "screamo" I've heard in a long, long time. They've got the noisy, chaotic bursts and scathing screams you'd expect from this style, but the playing isn't particularly sloppy and there's a keen sense of frantic energy and look to the songwriting that really puts this material head and shoulders above the rest. I suppose they've got a new four-way split 8" out now, and I really want to see it out, 'cause this shit just rules.ECHOES OF YUL / GUANTANAMO PARTY PROGRAM / SUN FOR MILES - Split (We Are All Pacinos) An array of absolutely crushing doom, mesmerizing drones, subtle melodies, and angular riffing from three obscure and sorely underrated Polish acts. Echoes of Yul in particular does some serious damage on this thing. I'm much more potential to get all excited about a loss like this than I am any of the comparable-yet-higher-profile material that's out there, and I can but trust that more people will start checking this stuff out if I keep blabbing about it.SOLITUDE - Poisoned Population: The Pure Collection (1987-1994) (Divebomb) Of all the amazing reissues that Divebomb Records put out this year (Uncle Slam, Elysium, the Cro-Mags, etc.), this double-CD collection impressed me the most. I had never yet heard of Solitude before picking up this set, so I was psyched as hell to see that their mark of cream is dominated by a complete correspondence between technical riffing, melodic leads, and crunchy midpaced grooves - and you'll get damn near two hours of it herein. Divebomb Records is easily one of the best labels out there right now, so if you haven't checked out their catalog yet, do so immediately! YOUNG ADULTS - Black Hole (AMDISCS) Their demo really grabbed my attention early in the year, and the full-length kicks ass, too. When I wrote near the present I loosely described the set as "a fusion of slightly new wave-ish punk, indie rock, and 'shoegaze'". There's definitely more to it than that, but I don't generally listen to this form of stuff, so I don't actually love what the hell to call it. All I like about is that the tunes are super catchy and absolutely drowning in a gritty haze of raw distortion and effects that make an unusual listening experience that definitely stands out. Valli has not just been the go-to guy of the Icelandic hard/extreme music zine for over a decade now, he's also one of its pillars. The number of material this guy has documented, gathered and spearheaded is baffling. He's singlehandedly run stellar homepages for lots of artists, Iceland's most fertile and utilized web-source (dordingull.com), he has his own radio show, a calling in computer somethingsomething, a founder of two and the name goes on. It's crazy. He's helped me so many times in the past. I've been swinging from his nuts since 97 I believe and here I am doing it again. He's The Man. 
GAVIN PORTLAND - Hand In Hand With Traitors, Back To Back With Whores (We Have The Guts) Most probably the one of the best hardcore record ever made by Icelandic people, forever on the shelve, but eventually released. This shit gets better every time I mind to it. To bad the band cant stay long enough together in the same state to properly celebrate this wonderful record. FAR - At Night We Live (Vagrant) One of my favorite bands, finally reunited. At first I was afraid, then I was petrified, then I only loved it. poppy and nice, got a very nice "I cant stop singing this fucking melody" feel too it.SICK OF IT ALL - Based On True Story (Century Media) No list from a hardcore loving thirty something can be without the true heroes of NYHC. This band just can`t fail.108 - 18.61 (Deathwish Inc. The true part of spiritual hardcore, uncompromising and beautiful. Strange intelligence that the singer quit the band, then the band decided to remain and then the guy got back into the band. 
27 - Brittle Divinity (Reproductive) This band always seems to get me, something I can always listen to and get a right feeling.DEFTONES - Diamond Eyes (Warner Bros) In by a comeback album, even though the band never left or stopped or even released a bad record. A serious and substantial effort from a set that no one seems to be able place musically, just a full rock band.DANZIG -Deth Red Sabaoth (Evilive) Another must get on any list, one of the best Danzig releases in years. In other words, just good music.BURZUM - Belus (Byelobog Productions) Not the most basic band for a flat edge vegan person that fights the good fight, it sort of bothers me that this a fucking fantastic record. FEAR FACTORY - Mechanize (Candlelight) Finally a salutary Fear Factory record, after years with out that fat bastard, Dino is binding and the circle is finally back on track. Damn that drummer bastard is only as well as that old fellow. KYLESA - Spiral Shadow (Season Of Mist) Solid. Just, solid. Honorable mentions:MADBALL - Empire (Good Fight/Nuclear Blast/Resist/Liberation)SUICIDAL TENDENCIES - No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family (Suicidal)HELMET - Seeing Eye Dog (Work Song)ION DISSONANCE - Cursed (Century Media/Doom Patrol/Basick)DAX RIGGS - Say Goodbye To The World (Fat Possum)THE ACACIAN STRAIN - Wormwood (Prosthetic)THE TONY DANZA TAPDANCE EXTRAVAGANZA - Danza III: The Series of Unfortunate Events (Black Market Activities)KNUT - Wonder (Hydra Head)Eyvindur Gauti, the dark lord of Currents zine, website, blog and all that is putrid, questionable and evil, has reinforced the shady woods of Halifax Collect for the best portion of the class with his many a fine review. He's the assurance that the children of darkness answer to. 
ENFORCER - Diamonds (Earache) I don't know if it's the Death Metal T-shirts in their videos, their ties to the Death Metal underground or the obvious awesomeness of their music. Yeah, of course it's the damn music. Damn good Glam Rock meets Heavy Metal from Sweden. A deadly combination.WATAIN - Lawless Darkness (Season Of Mist) Once again the Swedish alchemists have done their thing and made us richer in the process. They have down the convention and surpassed Sworn to the Dark. They give added to the Eighties influences evident on the previous opus and Carl McCoy's guest appearance in 'Waters of Ain' is the red on top.BLOOD AXIS - Born Again (Storm) Six years. Six long days I waited for this. I was not disappointed. Few words do to mind, but the enjoyment felt listening to songs like 'Strain of the Fellow' is real. GHOST - Opus Eponymous (Rise Above) The buzz was all over, the funderground was all up in flames. Everyone had to know who those masked men were. Bad to the ivory they must be, letting people writhe in the suffering of not knowing. No longer am I caught under their spell, but I even love the music. 
NACHTMYSTIUM Addicts: Black Meddle Pt. 2 (Century Media) Continuing on their way to Psychedelia. Hitting the rock hard and the keyboards harder. White Powder. Black Metal. NIDINGR - Wolf Father (Jester) Like with Blood Axis I'm not rich with description but there's something here that has that flame for me. That primal force that only raw Black Metal played well can evoke.DESULTORY - Counting Our Scars (Pulverised) Forget the cheesy title. Forget the band's past. Let this album stand on it own. Okay, don't. Get all worked up over the title. The change of styles right before the low death. It leave not alter anything. Counting Our Scars is a full album that will win you over. Classic Swedish MeloDeath. SABBATH ASSEMBLY - Restored to One (The Ajna Offensive) Classic hymns resurrected & I am glad! I've had a soft spot for The Work ever since I first saw a picture of DeGrimston. I had to live more! Jex & Xtian masterfully bring these old hymns back to life & allow us a glance into a little society as it formerly was. Review.WITCHRIST - Beheaded Ouroboros (Invictus) Death Metal darkness! This is one of the darkest Death Metal albums I have heard so far. Darker than Demoncy or Incantation at their worst!BLACK WITCHERY - Inferno of Sacred Destruction (Hells Headbangers) Black Witchery are an institution. Their progress isn't measured in miles, but each step, as low as it might be, has an impact. Oh, the Conqueror cover slays! Review.BLOODY SIGN - Chaos Echoes (Blood Harvest) Let the concluding words to this name be that the number is in no specific order. These are what I consider highlights but I leave not put a turn in presence of any of them. Bloody Sign is one of those highlights and a surprising one. I'm very prejudice against the French for some reason, I don't know why, some of my favorites down the blood are French. For some reason I expect more from the French than the others & Bloody Sign killed.
Additionally lucky poll participants will score free music and t-shirts from the sponsors. Now that's a sweet deal! To take more nearly the readers' poll click this bastard right here.Andrew Aversionline, is one of the reasons why I started Halifax Collect. He inspired me and has even encouraged me personally a ong the way. I remember reading his immense website in the late 90's and early 00's (if memory serves me right. The signal is, he's been doing this shit forever) and when he changed over to the blog format he utilizes until this day, I always stayed a loyal reader. So it was a no-brainer getting him on board. But his composition is respected by many. So, other "operations" had the like mind as I. In Andrew's own words: "Decibel and Halifax Collect both asked me to put together "best of the class" lists about the same time this month. I definitely didn't need to take the same list twice, but everything worked out well, 'cause as shortly as I hit "Send" on my email to Decibel, I now remembered a bit of former high-quality releases that had completely slipped my mind. So I thought, "Perfect, I'll send Birkir an addendum to my first list, and the end result will be an even 10 albums!"
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