Best Music Of 2011: Hatesphere

author PP date 06/01/12

Everyone loves lists. They convey a great amount of interesting information in a quick glance. At this time of year, lists are in. Shopping lists, wish lists, guest lists, you name it. And of course lists that hopelessly try to summarize an entire year's worth of music from a wide variety of genres in a ranked order. The latter are what we here at Rockfreaks.net specialize in, usually receiving confused looks and voices of concern for our mental well-being once our opinions are out in public scrutiny. So we figured that in 2011, we'll ask some other people who might know better: a number of well-known and up-and-coming bands from the local scene. So in the coming weeks, you'll see a series of like-minded articles shaped as lists every couple of days as we go through the Danish music scene to discover what they thought were the ten best albums in 2011. Oh, and don't worry - you won't be cheated from our misguided and thinly veiled lists of favoritism either. Those are coming as well.

The next band we've put on the spot is Hatesphere, who have long been considered the premier metal band in Denmark, both by national and international media alike. The critical acclaim has translated into enormous success: not only is the band signed to Napalm Records, one of the most respected metal labels in Europe, they have also undertaken several European and US tours, which have been well-attended to our knowledge. Despite seemingly switcing vocalists every other year or so, the band's fanbase has proven to be loyal and supportive of every new vocalist - helped by the fact that the band's scouting for talent in that department has been excellent over the years. They've taken a different approach to the other bands, and instead of providing a top 10, they've discussed their favorite music from 2011 in terms of both albums and songs.

Jimmy

Primus - Green Naugahyde

"I've been listening to Primus since the beginning of the 90s, and I always return to them. A good mixture of funk, rock, crazy and cool, with good story telling."

The Living End - The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating

"Good, solid punk rock with a touch of rockabilly. Well recorded, good melodies, and they have something to say. A good shot of energy.

Mike

Tom Waits - "Bad As Me"

"I've always loved Tom Waits' musical universe and his stories. After having waited seven years for a new release from him, it's a relief that he is in his best form on this album. It's an album that's on the same level as his masterpiece "Mule Variations" from 1999, if not even better."

The Haunted - "Unseen"

"Some people berated this record for being too much like rock and too far away from The Haunted's usual style. For me, it demonstrated The Haunted that has grown and evolved, and shows that they are in a league of their own, when it comes to groove, melody, and aggression."

Jakob

In Flames - Sounds of a Playground Fading

"In Flames are back in top form with a fantastic record. Great melodies and superb riffs - almost on the level of their oldest records."

The Black Dahlia Murder - Ritual

"BDM deliver the goods within their genre and then some. They have their own unique and a catchy approach to writing songs and riffs. The solos from Ryan Knight can't get any better, and elevate the record overall."

Esse

Malk de Koijn - Toback To The Fromtime

"For me, this has been a long anticipated album, that surpassed all expectations. Already the suggets an album's worth of excellently worded smash hits, where especially "Weekend Kriger" has taken a hold of my ears."

The Black Dahlia Murder - Moonlight Equilibrium (song)

"Moonlight Equilibrium is without doubt the song that I have listened to most this year. Here, the band have written a pearl of a song. The melodic chorus riff and the patiently varied construction of the chorus makes my otherwise icecold metal heart melt."

Pepe

In Flames - Fear is the weakness (song)

"In Flames luckily decided in 2011 to start releasing good records again. Great even. This song caught me quickly with its cool gloomy melodies and a well-known melodic verse in the vein of old In Flames. God damn it's good. Moreover, it has well executed and solid solos on top of that. There's a touche of hard rock in the verse, and that's absolutely not something that's going to make the song worse in my books."

In Flames - Ropes (song)

"Again a song from the absolutely best record this year in my opinion. Super catchy melodies and a monstrous chorus. I have to get used to Anders Fridén trying to really sing here instead of the whine, which he has had in many years now, plus that he isn't very good in English ;-). Anyway, the song is fantastic and quite poppy, but in a good way. Nothing standard or typical here, this is a world class song.

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