Geryon – s/t (Gilead Media, 2014)

Geryon is a duo consisting of bassist/vocalist Nicholas McMaster and drummer Lev Weinstein, whom you may recognize as the rhythm section behind USBM heavyweights Krallice. But while their main gig sees them creating the backbone for guitarists Colin Marston and Mick Barr’s crystalline caverns of black metal riffage, Geryon is crushing death metal of a most mind-bending variety with nary a guitar in sight.  With only a bare-bones setup of bass, drums and vocals, McMaster and Weinstein craft oldschool DM so compelling that you won’t miss the ol’ six-string in the slightest.

Snapped Necks and Psycho Holidays: A Heavily Abridged People’s History of Groove Metal (1990 – 1999)

Among the heavy metal subgenres most likely to turn the average underground ‘head into a piping hot cup of haterade, groove metal (sometimes referred to as post-thrash, closely related to alternative metal and industrial metal) surely sits at or near the top of the list. Blamed for contributing to the death of thrash, the spawning of nu metal and for bringing scores of jock-strap-polishing meatheads into the scene (among other things), groove metal is quite possibly the most battered and beaten of the genre’s red-headed stepchildren. However, its most heinous crime in the eyes of most NWN! message board-dweller types is that it is a product of the nineties, that decade where everything went to shit for a legion of ’80s-worshipping metal miscreants, many of whom continue to dab at bitter tears with the unwashed corners of their patch vests while clutching at their Nihilist demo cassettes to this very day.

Mutilation Rites – Empyrean (Gilead Media/Prosthetic, 2012)

Over the past few years, NYC has developed a reputation for spitting out black metal that falls squarely on the arty side of things, thanks largely to the misadventures of Hunter Hunt-Hendrix and his ego-vehicle Liturgy (burst beats! manifestos! oh, jeez!), as well as the epic-length Weakling-isms (now with a gazillion more notes!) of Krallice.  I know full well that it isn’t exactly fair, especially for an outsider such as myself, to judge the Big Apple’s black metal output based on the exploits of just two bands, but that doesn’t stop Mutilation Rites’ Empyrean from coming off like the pulverizing, nuclear-powered alternative to the somewhat pretentious NYCBM that ignited a hipster hunt throughout the internet metal ghetto.

THKD’s Top 100 Metal Albums #5: Helmet – Meantime (Interscope, 1992)

Helmet’s Meantime was an odd bird when it was released in 1992.  Straddling the line between heavy metal and the alternative rock explosion that Nirvana had ushered in a year earlier, Helmet was probably the only band capable of getting airtime on both Headbanger’s Ball and 120 Minutes.  That’s how I discovered Helmet; I was thirteen years old and just beginning my headlong dive into the world of heavy music.  I remember seeing the video for “Unsung” and being struck by several things: 1) the riffage was absolutely crushing 2) no one in the band had long hair 3) was that a fucking pink ESP?!  Helmet looked and most importantly sounded like no other band I had encountered up to that point.