As usual, ALARM leaves no genre unexplored in our list of this year's overlooked gems.

Sigh: Scenes from Hell (The End, 1/19/10)

Sigh: "The Summer Funeral"

With a history of fusing other revered genres to a doomy combination of black metal and thrash, Japan's Sigh used its eighth studio album to deliver symphonic, epic metal that calls upon classical instrumentation to top its rock foundation.

Brass, woodwind, and string instruments — as well as organ and piano — accent as well as lead sinister melodies that take surprising turns through fanciful themes. Raspy, menacing vocals coat each track, resulting in a dramatic presentation that isn't much at odds with its complex backdrop.

RJD2: The Colossus (RJ’s Electrical Connections, 1/19/10)

RJD2: "Games You Can Win"

Following a divisive album that saw the introduction of poppy, soulful vocals, producer RJD2 returned with something of a split release — an album that leaves no shortage of accessible, vocal-driven tunes but that emphasizes some inventive instrumentals.  Whether or not you dig the soulful RJ, there's no doubt that the music on The Colossus is some of his best to date.

Chicago Underground Duo: Boca Negra (Thrill Jockey, 1/26/10)

Chicago Underground Duo: "Spy on the Floor"

For 15 years, the Chicago Underground Duo (and Trio, Quartet, and Orchestra) has been an avant-garde jazz outlet for prolific Chicago musicians Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra, Isotope 217) and Chad Taylor.  Boca Negra is an interesting dichotomy, as spiraling vociferation leads to upbeat grooves, shifting piano chords, harmonic electronics, and ambient samples.

Algernon: Ghost Surveillance (Cuneiform, 1/26/10)

Algernon: "Broken Lady"

The brainchild of guitarist Dave Miller, Algernon walks a thin line between melodically driven post-rock and instrumental unconventionality.  Ghost Surveillance places greater emphasis on synthesizers and sprawling song structures, but at its core is the combination of accessibility and technicality that has defined Miller's style. Noisy, circular rock riffs transform to tranquil, wandering passages. "Timekiller," the album's fourth track, is a beautiful, buoyant number — and one of the band's best creations to date.

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: Into the Wind (Ubiquity, 1/26/10)

Bei Bei & Shawn Lee: "East"

In the hands of a marvel, the guzheng — a gorgeous Chinese zither — resonates with tactile beauty as its many strings are plucked with precision.

Bei Bei, a native of Chengdu, China, is one such musical technician. And this collaboration with Shawn Lee, a prolific producer who can man as many genres as he sees fit, is undoubtedly one of the year's finest albums.  Together, the two use Into the Wind to navigate through funky down-tempo jams, Kung-Fu flavor, hip hop, soul, and driving grooves.

Daníel Bjarnason: Processions (Bedroom Community, 2/1/10)

Daníel Bjarnason: "Bow to String I: Sorrow Conquers Happiness"

Best known as a conductor and arranger for indie groups such as Sigur Rós, composer Daníel Bjarnason also holds a lofty classical résumé. Processions, his proper debut, is, at many points, a challenging classical work.  Powerful cellos scale and race with crackling percussions before settling into gently bowed and pizzicato string accompaniments; easily half a dozen strings battle for dominance in a sorrowful, harmonic piece that resonates long after hearing it.  Undoubtedly, Processions is a daring and original debut.

Shining: Blackjazz (Indie Recordings / Distribution, 2/2/10)

Shining: "Fisheye"

Beginning as an experimental acoustic jazz ensemble, Norway's Shining — the brainchild of saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby — transformed to a progressive jazz-fusion outfit before delving into its darker side for a collaboration with black-metallists Enslaved.

Blackjazz pushes deeper into the band's dark recesses, forging a progressive industrial sound for the young century.  Big, complex rock riffs, twisted through gnarly distortion, form the foundation and support a mass of frantic, whirring synth lines and gut-wrenching black-metal screams.  In all, Blackjazz is a new epic — and perhaps the best metal album of 2010.

Pillars and Tongues: Lay of Pilgrim Park, LP + download (Endless Nest, 2/9/10)

Pillars and Tongues: "The Center of"

With just three members, Pillars and Tongues manages to craft powerful folk abstractions and interwoven, trance-inducing vocal dynamics. Both composed and improvisational, these shifting forms evoke spiritual vibes in their soulful essence, heavenly harmonies, and repeated patterns.

Dessa: A Badly Broken Code (Doomtree, 2/9/10)

Dessa: "Dixon's Girl"

The only female member of Minneapolis hip-hop collective Doomtree, Dessa is a spoken-word vocalist, singer, and MC whose awaited full-length was finally released earlier this year.

On A Badly Broken Code, her true solo debut, Dessa's vocal diversity is matched by its underlying music, ranging from hard-hitting beats and rhymes to lilting harmonic overdubs.

The Bastard Noise / The Endless Blockade: The Red List (20 Buck Spin, 2/16/10)

The Bastard Noise: "Mutant World of Shame / Underworld"

A spinoff of treasured "power-violence" hardcore group Man is the Bastard, The Bastard Noise is approaching its 20th anniversary of creating noisy electro-doom brutality.  For this split release with hardcore/punk experimentalists The Endless Blockade, the group utilizes the trademark drum-and-bass style of Man is the Bastard in combination with its far-out sounds.  The Endless Blockade contributes three tracks to the release — one 14-minute epic and two avant-garde remixes.

Freeway & Jake One: The Stimulus Package (Rhymesayers, 2/16/10)

Freeway & Jake One: "Know What I Mean"

Continuing his life after Roc-A-Fella Records, former freestyle star Freeway now makes his debut on Rhymesayers, a fitting new home — if only temporary before a move to Cash Money.  Fellow Rhymesayers standout Jake One provides a funky, malleable backdrop for Freeway's fiery delivery and lyrics that are alternately personal and light in content. And though Freeway deserves his accolades, Jake One's production is the MVP of this collaboration.

Carolina Chocolate Drops: Genuine Negro Jig (Nonesuch, 2/16/10)

Carolina Chocolate Drops: "Hit 'Em Up Style" (Blu Cantrell)

Beholden to the traditions of Americana and early African-American folk, the string trio Carolina Chocolate Drops continues blurring the lines of old and new. On Genuine Negro Jig, the group's fifth album, a few original numbers and a trove of traditionals take root in banjo, fiddle, and percussion. Three-part harmonies shimmer on the famous folk tune "Trouble in Your Mind," and simplicity shines on gripping renditions of "Why Don't You Do Right?" by Kansas Joe McCoy and "Trampled Rose" by Tom Waits.  Most surprisingly, Genuine Negro Jig includes an enjoyable rendition of "Hit 'Em Up Style," an unintentionally farcical pop hit by Blu Cantrell.

Mako Sica: Dual Horizon LP (La Société Expéditionnaire, 2/16/10)

Mako Sica: "I'Itoi"

A translation of the phrase "land bad," Mako Sica has more than a nominal Native American influence; the trio's distant vocal reverberations and dirge-inspired tunes recall the spirituality of America's original inhabitants.

Between the vocalizations of Brent Fuscaldo, the melodies of guitarist Przemyslaw Krys Drazek, and the rhythms of drummer Michael J. Kendrick, Mako Sica maintains a strong balance of abilities — with a brooding combination of jangly guitars, reverberated vociferation, and instrumental dynamics.

High on Fire: Snakes for the Divine (E1 Music, 2/23/10)

High on Fire: "Snakes for the Divine"

Stoner-metal trio High on Fire has built a devoted following over the past dozen years as fans fell in love with Matt Pike's gruff vocals and thunderous guitar riffs. On Snakes for the Divine, Pike uses his throat to channel Lemmy Kilmister; meanwhile, the band has picked up its pace and crafted an album that isn’t as outstretched. Hard-hitting riffery leads an effort that, though diverse at times, may be the band’s most driving release.

Jaga Jazzist: One-Armed Bandit (Ninja Tune, 2/23/10)

Jaga Jazzist: "One-Armed Bandit"

Five years have passed since we've heard the powerhouse melodies of Norway's Jaga Jazzist, the post-rock/"nü-jazz" conception of brothers Lars and Martin Horntveth.

One-Armed Bandit, immediately the group's best album, resembles symphonic prog rock, arguably a few steps removed from parts of Frank Zappa's expansive catalog and closer to countryman Jono El Grande's diverse and theatrical style.  This album, however, is much more cohesive than either of those comparisons suggest, and at times it is nearly overwhelming with grooves and harmonious refrains.

Rob Swift: The Architect (Ipecac, 2/23/10)

Rob Swift: "The Architect"

Turntablist/DJ Robert Aguilar, formerly of the X-ecutioners, has long utilized his love of jazz, R&B, and other musical movements to create compelling hip-hop instrumentals while displaying his tight beat-juggling skills.

The Architect is Swift’s foray into the classical world. In addition to a multitude of sampled styles and sounds, classical cuts comprise a substantial chunk of this Ipecac debut. Rearranged strings, organ, and horns often make the foundation of a given track, occasionally evoking high-tension Italian Westerns, as Swift’s scratches dance atop banging beats.

Rotting Christ: Aealo (Season of Mist, 2/23/10)

Rotting Christ: "Aealo"

For more than 20 years, Athens' Rotting Christ has traversed different directions on the metal path.  With its previous release, Theogonia, the group released a striking, original album that fused its dark sound to the ethnic sounds of its ancestors.

Like its predecessor, Aealo features female Benedictine chants, lingual pipes, and a medieval feel. Combined with dueling high-pitched harmonies and powerful guitar work, these new elements highlight an album that should be among the most original metal releases of the year.

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: Ali and Toumani (Nonesuch, 2/23/10)

Ali Farka Touré & Toumani Diabaté: "Ruby"

As two of Africa's most internationally renowned musicians, guitar legend Ali Farka Touré and kora phenom Toumani Diabaté have displayed impeccable abilities while integrating the styles of other cultures into their ethnic sounds.

Each Malian, the two collaborated for the acclaimed In the Heart of the Moon in 2005, shortly before Farka Touré's passing in 2006. Fortunately, the two set aside time to record new material before touring for In the Heart of the Moon, and the result is another beautiful set of duets that sees a posthumous release.

Throughout Ali and Toumani, Farka Touré roots each creation in melodious African-blues pieces. Diabaté's virtuosity accents each track in the form of fanciful scales, which at times evoke classical harpsichord passages, perhaps most notably on "Sabu Yerkoy."

Fang Island: s/t (Sargent House, 2/23/10)

Fang Island: "Sideswiper"

Mostly comprised of ex-Daughters, the good-time rock quintet Fang Island was one of the most quickly ascending bands of 2010, jumping onto tours with The Flaming Lips and Stone Temple Pilots following the release of its first full-length album.

The self-titled release is chock full of palm-muted and speed-infused indie-prog anthems, with über-layered vocal harmonies to go with a triple-thick guitar assault and distorted-bass bludgeoning.  It's one of those rare releases that feels absolutely radiant and thrashing at the same time.

B. Dolan: Fallen House, Sunken City (Strange Famous, 3/2/10)

B. Dolan: "The Reptilian Agenda"

Going way back with Sage Francis, rapper B. Dolan is a like-minded MC and slam poet whose style isn't terribly dissimilar to that of his long-time friend. Fallen House, Sunken City is Dolan's second full-length for Strange Famous, and it's full of the sociopolitical themes (if often in quick blasts or asides) and contentious delivery for which he's known.

In addition to some seemingly personal lyrics, Dolan takes passing shots at big business, taxation, the pharmaceutical industry, the concept of ownership of natural resources, the Israeli razing of Palestinian developments, and, among many other things, the so-called New World Order — dropping clips of Dick Cheney and George H.W. Bush in "The Reptilian Agenda."  On top of Dolan's socially conscious rhymes, A-list production by Alias makes this one of the year's top hip-hop releases.

Archie Bronson Outfit: Coconut (Domino, 3/2/10)

Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"
Archie Bronson Outfit: "Shark's Tooth"

With its warbled vocals and driving percussion, British psych-rock trio Archie Bronson Outfit is like a more adventurous Wolf Parade — as comfortable burning up the dance floor with clean, bouncy riffs as it is turning up the reverb and rocking in a garage.

Coconut is the band's first LP in nearly four years, and it kicks off with a crunchy, swirling guitar line and a hypnotic bongo-laden beat. Produced by DFA's Tim Goldsworthy, Coconut gets spaced-out and drone-like at times, but it always offers a hint of pop accessibility amidst the static and haze.

Download the podcast for This Week’s Best Albums: November 30, 2010 and subscribe to This Week’s Best Albums for free with iTunes.

Stream the podcast for This Week's Best Albums: November 30, 2010.

God of Shamisen: Smoke Monster Attack

God of Shamisen: "Last Shamisen Master Attack"

Featuring a pair of members from genre annihilators Estradasphere, God of Shamisen is a boundless project of East/West fusion combining heavy metal, improvised Japanese folk, and much more.  The four-piece is led by Kevin Kmetz, a US native who grew up on a military base in Japan and later mastered Tsugaru-shamisen, a striking, percussive style that developed during the late 1800s and early 1900s in the north of the island of Honshu.

The band’s music is built on Kmetz’s mastery of the shamisen, a slender, three-stringed Japanese instrument, but it has drawn the ire of some traditional shamisen masters for adding thrash riffs and rapid-fire metal beats. (Read the band's story in our newest book, Invisible: Overlooked Albums and Unseen Artists, and online here.)

On the band's 2008 debut album, Dragon String Attack, its aggressive blend skips from blast beats to reggae jams to Turkish folk. There are plenty more tangential visits to other styles, but at the band’s heart is the mixture of metal and shamisen.

Smoke Monster Attack, the band's digital-only second release, accentuates that mix. It features a few unreleased originals as well as a handful of video-game and movie covers, including wild renditions of the themes to Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Star Wars. The album was co-produced by Billy Anderson, a brief member of the Melvins who has produced or engineered for dozens of excellent heavy bands, and his presence makes Smoke Monster Attack that much stouter.

Tristeza: Paisajes (Sanity Muffin / Better Looking)

Tristeza: "Newbury"

Over the past 13 years, this highly melodic group of post-rock instrumentalists has released a constant stream of LPs, EPs, and outtakes.  And though Tristeza has slowed in recent years, Paisajes — the band's latest full-length — is another beautiful batch of churning rock tunes.

The group’s lineup has shifted a bit since former member James LaValle left to focus on The Album Leaf, and it has since added and lost a keyboardist. Paisajes is back to the basics, in a sense – at many points, it’s just the harmonic interplay of a reverberated guitar and bass on top of drums. However, there are accents of vibraphone and violin as well as a few funky horn cuts, and the band is billing this as an "album of sound, color, and textures."

No matter the context, Paisajes excels with more pretty rock instrumentals — recorded, notably, by Tim Green of The Fucking Champs, helping recapture some of the vibe of the band’s classic album Spine & Sensory.

Locrian: The Crystal World (Utech)

Locrian: "The Crystal World"

Not to be confused with the metal band of the same name, this Locrian is the dark noise duo-turned-trio from Chicago that has released dreary, droning, long-form experimental soundscapes.  The Crystal World is the group’s first album as a trio, and though it still builds slowly and is noisy and dark, it’s Locrian’s most palatable release yet for casual listeners.

Also sharing its name with the Locrian musical mode, which is built on tension and dissonance, the group has added more live instrumentation to make what might be the most melodic, accessible, and structured of its releases.  The Crystal World is, at times, essentially a cousin of brooding post-rock and horror-score atmospherics, but it walks a fine balance between order and chaos.  In all, it’s another evolution of a band that’s still coming into its own.

Honorable Mentions

King Cannibal: The Way of the Ninja (Ninja Tune)

Jason Stein’s Locksmith Isidore: Three Kinds of Happiness (Not Two Records)

God of Shamisen: Smoke Monster Attack

Despite a predilection for combining the shamisen — a fretless, three-stringed Japanese lute — with any dissimilar musical style, God of Shamisen’s Kevin Kmetz is very much the traditionalist. Kmetz is a student of Tsugaru-shamisen, a striking, percussive style of performance developed during the late 1800s and early 1900s in the northern region of Honshu (the largest island of Japan). Evolved in part by players such as Takahashi Chikuzan, who contributed to the “Tsugaru boom” of the 1950s, Tsugaru-shamisen eventually adopted long improvisations and began to reflect American influences such as the burgeoning free-jazz movement.

The name Tsugaru-shamisen, however, didn’t gain popularity until the ’50s and ’60s, an era when America again declared itself protector to Japan. Military bases had sprouted up in the region, and with them came American music suddenly filtering through the radio. Influences of jazz, blues, and rock ’n’ roll were added to the Tsugaru repertoire, and just as quickly, the shamisen community named the folk-infused improvisations as the true tradition of Tsugaru-shamisen — a tradition that must stay rigid, according to some.

It is particularly apt, then, for an outsider who spent his youth in the 1980s going to school on an American military base in Japan to advocate a tradition of change inherent in the beginnings of Tsugaru-shamisen.

"I feel like if you’re pissing people off, you’re making an impact."

Kmetz had a desire to play the shamisen during his early teens — something that he says was impossible for a gaijin, an outsider, to do at the time. “There was no way I could have gone into a shamisen school,” he says. “It was just closed off to foreigners. You just wouldn’t see a gaijin going to a shamisen master and learning. I had to wait until I was an adult to go into shamisen.”

Since picking up the instrument, Kmetz has become the first foreigner to win the honorary Daijo Kazuo Award in 2005, as well as finish as a runner-up in 2006 and in second place in 2007 — honors that he hopes to surpass by becoming the first foreigner to win first place in a Tsugaru-shamisen tournament.

Apart from the tournaments, however, Kmetz leads God of Shamisen (www.godofshamisen.com), a conduit for the change that he sees as paramount to Tsugaru-shamisen’s continuity. Dragon String Attack, the band’s 2008 debut, deftly weaves metal, funk, ambient electronic, and even a sense of the 8-bit-music renaissance into an effluent, funny, intelligent mess of Eastern and Western influences.

The album, including contributions from Trey Spruance of Secret Chiefs 3, fellow shamisen player Masahiro Nitta, and bansuri maestro Deepak Ram, has at its center the shamisen — with a rhythmic, buzzing, and tonally striking sound that is never out of place yet always surprising in its context.

For Kmetz, the band’s changes in style — from blast beats to reggae jams to Turkish folk — are a natural progression for Tsugaru-shamisen.

“I feel there’s a duty to keep adding to it,” Kmetz says, “because that’s what it was originally about. People forgot that you could add a phrase and still call it Tsugaru-shamisen. You’re going to make people mad, but that’s really what it’s supposed to say. To me, that’s the only way to keep a tradition alive.”

Those whom God of Shamisen are angering, surprisingly, are not the Japanese masters — a group, Kevin admits, that is not the most vocal in its true opinions.

The most outspoken individuals come from the USA. “I’m thrilled to report I’ve actually been making a lot of fellow American shamisen players quite upset,” Kmetz says. “I’m really taking huge authorities with the instrument, which is one of the major complaints I’m getting from a lot of fellow American players. They’re saying, ‘You can’t really call yourself Tsugaru-shamisen, because you’re not sticking to the language.’ It’s been sort of a satisfactory moment for me, because I feel like if you’re pissing people off, you’re making an impact. Finally, I’m considered worthy enough to get upset about.”

It’s been two years since the release of Dragon String Attack, and despite the distance between players, God of Shamisen has released a follow-up digital album titled Smoke Monster Attack. Kmetz, after spending most of his adult life in the States, has moved back to Japan to study under the current masters of the shamisen.

Bassist/producer Mark Thornton and guitarist Karl Schnaitter reside in California, and drummer Lee Smith — a fellow alumnus, along with Kmetz, of genre annihilators Estradasphere — resides in Seattle, where some of the recording for Smoke Monster Attack was completed.

Produced by Thornton and Billy Anderson, a name very familiar to metal heads, Smoke Monster Attack continues to blend the shamisen’s unique sound with Western music. Anderson has produced for the likes of Sleep, Secret Chiefs 3, and Mr. Bungle, and he brings to Kmetz’s instrument a frantic immediacy that hits at every note. The rhythmic, acoustic strikes somehow fit right in with heavy riffs and video-game covers.

The metal influences heard on the first album take center stage with Anderson’s production, and Smoke Monster Attack is less likely to bound from one genre to another. The music loses none of its spontaneity or humor, and if anything, it feels like a stronger, more cohesive release than the first.

Within the time between albums, God of Shamisen has been as active as a band can be with its members spanning the globe, playing Japanese-American festivals, dive bars, and concert halls. The band plans, however, to accomplish one elusive goal: to tour Japan. “We’ve never done that, and that’s always been weird,” Kmetz says. “It’s like, ‘Wow, you’re doing this thing that’s mixing Japanese culture with American culture, and you’ve never gone to Japan and showed that to anyone.’”

This means that Japan has something wholly original coming, derived from the best that American and Japanese culture could birth, flitting between two worlds despite the tendency for stagnation in the name of tradition. As Kmetz so rightly says, tradition is about keeping things alive enough to change.

Though many players adhere to the traditional Tsugaru-shamisen repertoire — a complex, improvisational style popularized in northern Japan — others have stretched the instrument’s boundaries.  The Yoshida Brothers are one such set of risk-takers, meshing a fast, traditional style with rock, bluegrass, and cinematic styles.

Separated by just two years, Ryōichirō and Ken’ichi Yoshida have found success in their homeland, but they’ve become just as popular in the USA, where they began touring as a duo before even doing so in Japan.  Amid the brothers’ current US tour — a trip that they take each year — they spoke to ALARM about what is “proper” for the shamisen, being seen as a novelty, and the differences in US and Japanese audiences.

(Answers translated by Tatsuya Hayashi)

What do you accomplish together with two shamisens that you could not with just one?

We have more variety of music by playing two.  Basically, a shamisen is a unison instrument, so by using two shamisens, we can divide the parts into two.  …  Sometimes one plays lower and one plays higher.  We can sometimes harmonize, but sometimes one plays a rhythm part and one plays the melody.

Have you encountered people who view your music as a gimmick or novelty?  How would you respond to that?

Sometimes it is good for us, because the shamisen has a lot of potential for many genres of music, and that’s our mission – to show the potential of the instrument.  There might be [criticism], but we don’t really care. (Laughs) The main thing is that we enjoy the music, and we want our audience to enjoy the music.

I interviewed an American shamisen player, Kevin Kmetz, who has a band called God of Shamisen.  The band combines Tsugaru-jamisen with heavy metal and dozens of other styles, and he talked about traditional shamisen masters being upset at what he does.  Have you encountered the same type of anger or opposition?

Heavy metal is going a little far.  (Laughs)  Some people think that our music is not proper for the shamisen.  In our music, we always try to leave some elements that can be performed only by shamisen.  That is something we always keep in mind, so that’s why we really don’t care what people say.

When you recorded Prism in LA, you worked with a number of great American musicians, including Matt Chamberlain and Jesca Hoop.  Who else would you like to collaborate with on future albums?

We don’t have many ideas for vocalists.  [Ken'ichi] mainly listens to jazz and respects artists like Pat Metheny and Chick Corea.  Someday in the future, [we’d love to] collaborate with them.

We haven’t done any shows with a full band yet.  So in the future, if we have a show with a full band in the States, we’d like to have [Matt Chamberlain] as the drummer.

Ken’ichi has said that eating local foods are the “only way to feel or enjoy cities.”  What food have you enjoyed in Chicago, and what do you like about playing in America?

Pizza!  More than food, we really enjoy the reaction from the audience; it’s very different and depends on the location.  It’s very different from Japan too.  We sense a freeness from the audience [in America] – clapping hands and shouting.  Tsugaru-shamisen music is very improvisational, and it’s fun to [communicate in this way] from the artist to the audience.

1. Books to Give for the 2008 Holiday Season

Covering politics, comic books, nude self-portraits, futuristic architecture, and humorous basketball profiles, ALARM lists five awesome books as gift ideas for your musically, artistically, or culturally interesting friends.

2. Commentaries on the Golden Path: The Allure of Belonging to America

Columnist Andrew Williams analyzes his love of American creations and how they often conflict with his sociopolitical ideology.

3. DIY Venue Spotlight: The Dayton Dirt Collective

ALARM's ongoing series exploring the best grassroots, non-traditional music venues profiles The Dayton Dirt Collective, a punk/experimental establishment situated near a local porn shop and church-supply outlet.

4. Lollapalooza 2008, Day 1: A Diverse Collection of Garbage

With pie chart in hand, publisher/editor Chris Force breaks down the whack hip hop, corny music for alt-jocks, sleepy singer/songwriters and more from Day 1 of last year's Lollapalooza.

5. Q&A: East Coast Avengers Discuss War Obsessions, 9/11, and Fox News

Following national notoriety for the release of "Kill Bill O'Reilly," politically outspoken hip-hop trio East Coast Avengers spoke with ALARM online editor Scott Morrow just before the historic 2008 election.

6. Q&A: God of Shamisen's Shredding Cultural Collisions

Led by Tsugaru-shamisen master Kevin Kmetz, Santa Cruz's God of Shamisen creates cultural collisions in the form of shredding, Japanese-infused progressive metal.

7. Q&A: Grails Guitarist Discusses Creating Album Art for Doomsdayer's Holiday

Fusing Indian music, 1970s film noir, and psychedelic sounds into heavy acoustic and electric rock, Grails is a wonderful anomaly. Publisher/editor Chris Force recently spoke with guitarist Alex Hall, who created the artwork for the group's new album.

8. Tim Fite: Tears of a Clown

Genre-defying folk rapper Tim Fite discusses the making of his most recent creation, Fair Ain't Fair, an album of violent regrets recorded during one of the lowest emotional points in his life.

9. Tinariwen: Malian Rebel Rock and Roll

Members of the nomadic Tuareg ethnic group, Tinariwen sings of independence from the Malian government. And despite a lengthy international touring schedule, the group's songs still tell the stories of its home — bleak tales of survival and cautious hope, desperation, and escapism.

10. The Top 10 Cover Songs by The Bad Plus

Hard-hitting jazz trio The Bad Plus knows how to pen pieces of proprietary gold. But its three members are also known for their genre-leaping renditions of rock songs, propelled by the chops of pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson, and drummer David King.

11. The Top 10 Parts of The Shape of Punk to Come

Just prior to an acrimonious breakup, Swedish hardcore group Refused released its magnum opus, The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts. It was as much an assault on capitalist philosophy as it was a striking stylistic evolution, and it did its best to advance hardcore in the way that its titular influence, Ornette Coleman's The Shape of Jazz to Come, did with jazz.

12. The Top 10 Songs by Faith No More

Faith No More didn't revolutionize the rock landscape, but for much of its tenure, its members created some of the genre's best mainstream songs while courting radio success. Along the way, Mike Patton and crew peppered other styles into their expanding repertoire, wedging lounge sounds, incoherent squeals, and even an angelic choir into songs that ran alongside pummeling rock tunes.

The group released a phenomenal full-length late this year on Reptile Records, and now Kmetz is working on a major-label release for EMI Japan.

After the jump, you can watch a few exclusive videos of the group in the studio.  Make sure to throw those horns up for the double bass, and be sure to geek out for the Star Wars cover.

Also, be sure to read our web-exclusive interview with God of Shamisen.