Shining: Live Blackjazz album and DVD (Indie Recordings / Prosthetic Records)

Shining: "Fisheye"

With its 2010 album, Blackjazz, Norway’s Shining completed a transition from jazz experimentalism to classically informed prog-fusion to sinister electro-industrial metal. The transformation seems extreme, but when heard linearly, it feels surprisingly natural. Much of that transformational fluidity, in fact, is owed to the band’s hyperkinetic live show, where old and new tunes alike are delivered with equal parts precision and punishment.

A combined DVD and live album, Live Blackjazz documents Shining’s cathartic stage show in stunning quality while bordering on sensory overload. Live recordings generally aren’t recommended for first introductions — but, as you might have guessed, Shining isn’t your average band.

- Scott Morrow

Liberteer: Better to Die on Your Feet than Live on Your Knees (Relapse)

Liberteer: "Build No System"

As the new solo moniker of Santa Cruz grind veteran and multi-instrumentalist Matt Widener, Liberteer has delivered a maiden opus that might truly justify using the words “grindcore” and “opera” in the same breath. It’s an epic and unorthodox debut — one that plays essentially as one continuous song while marrying D-beat crust to horns, flutes, banjos, and marching snares.

As expected, the album contains plenty of bellowing, ultra-low B-tuned guitar and blast-beat bury. But from the very first banjo plucks and bugle-horn strains on the introductory track, it’s obvious that Widener’s over-the-top militarism is meant as a parody of patriotic fervor.

- Saby Reyes-Kulkarni

Jono El Grande: The Choko King (Rune Grammofon)

In late 2010, the eccentric Norwegian guitarist and avant-garde composer known as Jono El Grande (born Jon Andreas Håtun) released Phantom Stimulance, a collection of previously unreleased tunes from his archives and songs that he transformed beyond recognition, demanding to be heard.

This year, Jono reached even further into his stash to bring us The Choko King, another compilation of unheard music dating back to 1995 — four years before his debut as Jono El Grande. Though the album lacks a certain cohesiveness present in his other releases, the songs serve as rough sketches illustrating his strangely brilliant mind.

For the uninitiated, Jono’s avant-garde compositions may seem either absurd and inaccessible or merely a cacophony of random sounds. Tracks like “Türbø Meuz,” however, exemplify the amount of time and labor that goes into every quirky detail: in his “insanely nerdy details” about the album, Jono explains the song’s 12-year evolution from a 20-minute orchestral piece to the two-minute art-rock composition on The Choko King.

Though some of the early pieces are interesting to hear as bizarre ideas unfolding, “Türbø Meuz” and the other later ideas showcase the more fully realized, Frank Zappa-esque era of Mr. El Grande. Certain tracks may rub you the wrong way, but given that the majority are under one or two minutes, it doesn't take long for the album to cross back into mad genius.

- Meaghann Korbel

Honorable Mentions

Buxton: Nothing Here Seems Strange (New West)

Leonard Cohen: Old Ideas (Columbia)

Gotye: Making Mirrors (Universal)

Hospitality: s/t (Merge)

Imperial Teen: Feel the Sound (Merge)

Lana Del Rey: Born to Die (Interscope)

Novalima: Karimba (ESL)

Zeena Parkins: Double Dupe Down (Tzadik)

Gregory Rogove: Piana, performed by John Medeski (Knitting Factory)

John Zorn: Mount Analogue (Tzadik)

On January 31, Americans will finally get to experience Live Blackjazz, the band's two-disc CD/DVD document of its bewildering live show, via Prosthetic Records and Indie Recordings. It presents much of Blackjazz in its intricate, crushing glory, but it also includes older classics, such as "Goretex Weather Report" and "Winterreise," with a much heavier edge. Today's video premiere is one such hybrid, "Healter Skelter" — a track from Blackjazz that frantically rearranged the sax-led "Redrum" from In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster.

The band will release its double live album / DVD, Live Blackjazz, in the States on January 17 via Prosthetic Records. You can check out a track-by-track preview of the album here.

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.

Drone-doom poster duo Sunn O))) will curate the 2011 festival, guaranteeing another exceptional lineup.  The two official members (Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley) have participated in various past Roadburns, and they will follow curators David Tibet and Neurosis from past years.  Specifically, the group will choose the events of Friday, April 15, personally selecting bands to play before headlining the event.

Last year’s stellar roster included Shining (Norway), Russian Circles, Earthless, Kylesa, Enslaved, Master Musicians of Bukkake, Jesu, Bohren Und Der Club of Gore, Nachtmystiuim, and Shrinebuilder.  The 2011 festival will take place on April 14-17 in Tilburg, Holland.

If a trip to the Netherlands is out of your budget, or if you simply cannot wait until April to see Greg and Stephen, you can get your Sunn O))) fix in September during their collaboration project with Boris (ALTAR), performing at ATP New York and Brooklyn’s Masonic Temple.

During the tour, Shining will share the stage with bands including Ihsahn, Leprous, Xerath, A-Ha, Killl, and Suburban Tribe. For a detailed schedule, visit the band's website.  And yes, that's the same A-Ha of "Take on Me" fame — which awarded Shining one of its lucrative A-Ha Grants this summer.

Shining (No.) tour dates:

8/19/10 – London, UK @ Electric Ballroom
8/20/10 – Trondheim, Norway @ Pstereo
8/21/10 – Oslo, Norway @ Ullevalstadion
8/29/10 – Venlo, Netherlands @ Zomerparkfeest
9/16/10 – Jyvaskyla, Finland @ Lutakko
9/17/10 – Rytmikorjaamo, Finland @ Seinajoki
9/18/10 – Helsinki, Finland @ Virgin Oil Club
10/13/10 – Trondheim, Norway @ Blaest
10/16/10 – Lillehammer, Norway @ Dolajazz
10/20/10 – Krakow, Poland @ Unsound Festival
10/22/10 – Antwerp, Belgium @ Trix
10/23/10 – Leeds, UK @ Brainwash Festival
10/25/10 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie
10/26/10 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Ziegel Oh Lac
10/27/10 – Geneva, Switzerland @ PTR Usine
10/28/10 – Tilburg, Netherlands @ 013
10/29/10 – Diksmuide, Belgium @ 4AD
10/30/10 – Hamburg, Germany @ Exit Jazz Festival
11/3/10 – Oslo, Norway @ Rockefeller
11/4/10 – Bergen, Norway @ Hulen
11/5/10 – Sandnes, Norway @ Tribute
11/6/10 – Kristiansand, Norway @ Pa Hjornet

Cleric: Regressions (Mimicry)

Ultimate annihilation, the end times, post-apocalyptic Earth — these are worn-out visual clichés, but ones that apply to the devastating music of Cleric.

For its full-length debut, this Philadelphia quartet specializes in demolishing tech-metal eruptions, savage math breakdowns, and grindcore blasts that give way to doom dirges, sinister atmospherics, nightmarish vocal distortions, and even the stray melody and piano line.

With nary a repeated passage and most major pieces measuring more than 10 minutes, Regressions sounds like a personalized soundtrack to death. Each track is meticulously arranged, and though it very much is for fans of musical complexity, the album has enough head-banging potential to ensnare lovers of "regular" metal. Undoubtedly, Cleric's music isn't quite like anything else.

Cleric: "A Rush of Blood"
Cleric: \"A Rush of Blood\"

My Education: Sunrise (Strange Attractors Audio House)

The name of German director F.W. Murnau is most synonymous with Nosferatu, the classic 1922 silent film that lost a lawsuit for copyright infringement of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Just as crucial to his legacy, however, was his work on Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, a co-recipient of Best Picture at the first Academy Awards in 1929.

Nosferatu has been the frequent subject of live scoring — rather recently by Tortoise too — but Sunrise doesn't receive the musical accompaniment as often.

Now enter My Education, an Austin quintet whose dramatic and dense brand of instrumental post-rock is noteworthy for its exquisite harmonies and use of strings. Sunrise is the band's homage to Murnau's Oscar winner, woven together over two years of live presentation.

Combining a traditional rock lineup with viola, cello, and vibraphone, My Education captivates with flares of tension and scrupulous melodies. "Sunset" and its reprise "Sunrise" are chamber-infused duels of harmonies that are interwoven with acoustic guitar and tuba.

Sunrise's most powerful and dynamic effort, "Oars," comes after a few more tracks of post-rock bliss that is evocative of Dirty Three, Grails, and Tortoise. The track's hiccuping, quick-twitch beats create a head-nodding background for swirling guitars and more shining string harmonies.

My Education: "Oars"
My Education: \"Oars\"

Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble / Terry Riley: In C (Ghostly International)

As one of the premier names in minimalist classical composition, Terry Riley has influenced and worked with key figures such as Steve Reich, John Adams, Philip Glass, and Morton Subotnick. His landmark piece, In C, wasn't a traditional composition but rather a series of 53 modules that hold different patterns and instructions.

Its hypnotic repetition and varied interpretations have led to countless performances and recordings by dozens of different ensembles and bands. The latest to take the mantle is the Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble, a 16-piece Michigan group that recorded In C early last year for a daring remix album, featuring contributions from Glenn Kotche, Nico Muhly, DJ Spooky, Daniel Bernard Roumain, and a dozen others.

This particular release is a live recording of the New Music Ensemble working through the landmark piece with electronic producer/composer Dennis DeSantis on laptop and effects. By and large, their rendition is one of traditional instrumentation, with strings, woodwinds, percussion, and the familiar marimba pulse swelling and retreating.

DeSantis, however, adds IDM elements three-quarters of the way through, infusing the piece with electronic life. The result is an interpretation that pays fierce tribute to the original yet is a brand-new way to experience In C.

The Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble: "In C" (excerpt)
Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble: \"In C\"

Devastations: s/t (Brassland)

Following success early last decade in their homeland, these Australian natives migrated to Europe and exposed the Western world to their somber brand of alt-rock, goth, and neofolk.

The trio's fourth but self-titled effort finds Devastations stripping back its rock elements even more, focusing on Americana sounds and baritone crooning. The album remains peppered with Nick Cave-style rockers, such as "Loene," that rely on medium-gain guitars and Hammond organ.

However, like Cave's endeavors with Dirty Three violinist Warren Ellis, it seems that Devastations' trajectory — at least incrementally — is toward softer songs that are built on acoustic guitar and piano.

Devastations: "Previous Crimes"
Devastations: \"Previous Crimes\"

Bushman's Revenge: Jitterbug (Rune Grammofon)

Norwegian guitarist Even Helte Hermansen, no longer a part of prog-industrial countrymen Shining, has focused on the power-trio ferocity of Bushman's Revenge.

His effortless talents, ranging from Hendrix-style psych rock to heavy-jam improvs befitting Nels Cline, make the far-reaching band a potent yet enchanting experience. Jitterbug is the trio's third album, released just a year after You Lost Me at Hello, and it reveals a band manifesting its talents into an ever-more-cohesive mix.

Honorable Mentions

Balkan Beat Box: Blue Eyed Black Boy (Nat Geo Music)

Frog Eyes: Paul's Tomb: A Triumph (Dead Oceans)

Gogol Bordello: Trans-Continental Hustle (Columbia)

Mike Reed’s People, Places & Things: Stories & Negotiations (482 Music)

Mono: Holy Ground: NYC Live with The Wordless Music Orchestra (Temporary Residence)

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. The two co-founded knowmore.org, a resource for raising awareness about corporate practices, and his inclusion on Francis' label is fitting.

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.

What combines to make the album a great hip-hop disc is the A-list production by Alias, whose ability to shift gears keeps Fallen House, Sunken City fresh. This is particularly true when it shifts gears to jams like "Border Crossing," a tune that evokes a group like Slavic Soul Party with Balkan-flavored horn cuts and marching-band accoutrement.

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 these strengths, P.O.S and Cadence Weapon appear on “The Fall of T.R.O.Y.” When 2010 is said and done, Fallen House, Sunken City should stand as one of the year's best hip-hop releases.

B. Dolan: "The Reptilian Agenda"
B. Dolan: \"The Reptilian Agenda\"

Mortemia: Misere Mortem (Napalm)

Norwegian one-man band Morten Veland has decades of experience in the Scandinavian metal scene, notably with goth-metal groups Tristania and Sirenia. Now, after beginning a new solo endeavor as Mortemia, Veland delivers an epic fusion of black metal and classical, with vocals that alternate between his growls and grandiose choirs.

On the heels of great releases by Japan's Sigh, Norway's Shining, and Greece's Rotting Christ, Mortemia adds to what already was a great winter for soaring, adventurous metal. The project maintains some of the gothic influence of his former groups, and at times, especially with Veland's vocals and piano lines, it draws parallels to Cradle of Filth.

Absent are the female lead vocals of the older projects, which often came off as melodramatic. Many also will dub Mortemia as campy, but there's no denying the striking musicianship of Veland, who remarkably performs and programs every instrument on Misere Mortem.

Mortemia: "The New Desire" (edit)
Mortemia: \"The New Desire\"

Architect: Consume Adapt Create (Hymen)

Many electronic artists prefer to record under an assortment of aliases, and Daniel Myer is no exception. Operating as half of German live-IDM duo Haujobb, Myer owns a rap sheet of solo and group projects, and one notable credit — in addition to his soundtrack work for XBox game Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus — is Architect.

Each track is different, but Consume Adapt Create is best defined by its hard-hitting breakbeats and synthesized industrial. Still, there are plenty of dance and groove elements, and like other Architect releases, this should appeal to different segments of the electronica crowd.

Architect: "Fast Lane (Freeze Frame)" (excerpt)
Architect: \"Fast Lane (Freeze Frame)\" (excerpt)

Honorable mentions

Jaguar Love: Hologram Jams (Fat Possum)

Loscil: Endless Falls (Kranky)

Motorpsycho: Heavy Metal Fruit (Rune Grammofon)

Rogue Wave: Permalight (Brushfire)

The Ruby Suns: Fight Softly (Sub Pop)

Stake Off the Witch: Medusa (Fuzzorama)

V/A: Next Stop…Soweto (Strut)

Josiah Wolf: Jet Lag (Anticon)

Yellow Swans: Going Places (Type)

Beginning as an experimental acoustic jazz ensemble, the brainchild of saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby transformed to a progressive jazz-fusion outfit before the release of its 2005 album, In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster. The band followed in 2007 with what, under normal circumstances, would be considered a magnum opus: the epic, classically infused prog compositions of Grindstone.

Now, as a collaboration with Norwegian black-metallists Enslaved paved the way for another transformation, Shining pushes deeper into music’s dark recesses with Blackjazz, forging a progressive industrial sound for the young century.

Big, complex rock riffs, twisted through gnarly distortion, form the foundation of Blackjazz and support a mass of frantic, whirring synth lines and gut-wrenching black-metal screams. Crucially, Torstein Loftus’ drums are playing “all over, all the time” (in the words of Munkeby), inundating the material with impeccable fills and a gargantuan sound.

The classical interludes and scrupulous arrangements of Grindstone have given way to an unadulterated despondency, albeit one with brilliant technical overtones, and Blackjazz is a new epic — one of powerful grooves, sinister diminished keys, and hefty durations.

Shining: "Fisheye"
Shining: \"Fisheye\"

Daníel Bjarnason: Processions (Bedroom Community)

Debut works seldom deserve instant acclaim, but this full-length by Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason does just that.

Best known as a conductor and arranger for indie groups such as Sigur Rós, Bjarnason also holds a lofty classical résumé, one that boasts the London Sinfonietta and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

Processions, his proper debut, is, at many points, a challenging classical work. But even listeners who don't gravitate toward classical may find themselves enraptured with the first movement of "Bow to String," the album's first piece.

In the first section, "Sorrow Conquers Happiness," 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.

The second movement is utterly somber, at times sounding like feedback, and the strings cause dissonance in a delicate fashion. The first movement of the title concerto, "Processions," presents a thunderous piano that trades leads with its orchestral brothers, dancing between irreverent beauty and sudden backlashes of force.

It's a daring and original work. Undoubtedly, Processions will make year-end lists in classical circles.

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

Økapi (& Aldo Kapi’s Orchestra): Love Him: Okapi Plays the Music of Aldo Kapi (1914-1952) (KML / Sonic Invaders)

Allegedly, Aldo Kapi was a Kyrgyz composer whose imperfections on piano led him to experiment and buck classical convention.

For as interesting as his story seems, however, it appears all too fake, particularly in this age of digital duplicity. Perhaps tellingly, the only information on Kapi comes from Økapi, an Italian cutup artist named Filippo Paolini, and the information on Kapi's Wikipedia entry is exactly the same. No other photos of Kapi can be found, nor can information on his supposedly famous parents.

Nevertheless, it doesn't particularly matter, and it wouldn't be the first time that an elaborate story was made to publicize an album. The bottom line is that the first of these two themed albums by Paolini is great.

A semi-IDM affair with glitch elements and chopped vocal cuts, Love Him is a cut-and-paste musician's dream, recalling artists such as End and Tipsy. Samples of soothing, sweeping strings and woodwinds paint a pretty backdrop that wavers between classical and lounge, before cutting into short upbeat bursts, frequently calling upon snare rolls and clattering bits.

Økapi: "Love-him"
Okapi: \"Love-him\"

Bob Log III

For 15 years, Bob Log III has knocked out fucked-up, floor-stomping rhythms for adventurous show-goers, performing in full-body cannonball suits with a telephone-receiver mic fastened to a motorcycle helmet.  His one-man-band MO consists of crazy blues riffs, drum-machine beats, solo kick-drum rhythms, and steel-stringed slide guitar.

True to form, My Shit is Perfect is quintessential Bob Log with elements of stop-start timing, lighting-fast picking, and mostly incomprehensible lyrics.

Gouseion: More Friends for the Fire EP (Run Riot)

Electronic producer Cassidy DeMarco returns with another release as Gouseion, purveyor of buzz-saw synthesizers and big beats.  For this EP, DeMarco stresses backing harmonies and scales back the power of his drum samples, resulting in a dancier mix whose appeal reaches beyond raves.

Released less than six months after his last full album, Nijikon, this EP is a digital-only release.

Gouseion: "We're in High School"
Gouseion: \"We\'re in High School\"

Bushman's Revenge: You Lost Me at Hello (Rune Grammofon)

Led by the down-tuned riffs of Even Helte Hermansen, the guitarist for the outstanding Norwegian prog-jazz group Shining, Bushman's Revenge filters a heavy rock trio through the lens of an improvisational jazz outfit.

The group cites inspiration as much from Black Sabbath and Jimi Hendrix as Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler, and You Lost Me at Hello oddly sounds a bit like all of it, even if it leans on the first two.  Boundless free jazz meets structured rock and roll on the album, which comes recommended for fans of both styles.

Pulling Teeth: Paradise Illusions / Paranoid Delusions (Deathwish Inc.)

Punching in at five songs and 23 minutes, this doubly themed release takes hardcore group Pulling Teeth in a crushing and despairing direction.  The group's full-throttle tempos, speed picking, push beats, and wailing solos are still present, but the final product is a more-complete, ominous concoction that adds a few melodic breakdowns.

Rahim AlHaj: Ancient Sounds (UR Music)

Iraqi political refugee Rahim AlHaj found asylum in the USA in 2000, finally free of the torture and imprisonment that he suffered at the hands of Saddam Hussein for aligning himself with anti-Hussein groups.

A master of the oud, AlHaj now lives in New Mexico, where he was able to vote last November for the first time in his entire life.  His beautiful Arabic style, full of microtones and complex rhythms, has taken small elements of Western structure over the years, although this duet recording with sarod master Ustad Amjad Ali Khan is rather traditional.

Stinking Lizaveta: Sacrifice and Bliss (At a Loss)

Splashing together prog rock, math rock, stoner/psych rock, and bits of Eastern flavor, Stinking Lizaveta accomplishes quite a bit for having a semi-standard rock-trio lineup.  Guitarist Yanni Papadopoulos shines with his technical and diverse creations, and he adds keyboards and theremin as sonic supplements.  Sacrifice and Bliss comes strongly recommended for instrumental-tech-rock geeks.