We’ve been through our albums of the year and we’re pretty fucking satisfied with the result. But which individual songs have stood out? Here’s the Hammer Staff’s top picks of 2014…
Suicide Silence – Inherit The Crown
Merlin Alderslade: “Has a band ever so immediately and emphatically silenced their doubters? A triumphant, exhilarating opener to an album that has ensured that Suicide Silence remain as vital and relevant to the scene as ever.”
Necrophagia – Rat Witch
Dom Lawson: “Everything I want from heavy metal in one snarling eruption of massive, spine-severing riffs, inhuman shrieking and eerie horror schlock. Just one of the many classics on White Worm Cathedral, the best metal album of 2014… according to me. AND THAT DEFINITELY COUNTS.”
Marmozets – Cover Up
Vanessa Thorpe: “Frankly it could be any track on that album, depending on the day you ask me. To say I’ve been obsessed with this band this year is a massive understatement.”
Wovenhand – Corsicana Clip
Jonathan Selzer: “A song that corralled ancient forces into the here and now with more abandon, belief and pineal gland-bursting rapture than pretty much any metal band you can care to name, Corsicana Clip set its course from dustbowl Americana, orbited the worlds of post-punk like some fiery, portentous comet, and from 2.20 on, shifted gear as it rattled the doors of perception until they came off their hinges.”
Metallica – Ronnie Rising Medley
Alexander Milas: “OK, so it’s probably cheating to cite a cover, especially when 2014’s been such a rich year for new releases, but were I to name a single track that gave me that heart-flutter the moment it came on it’d have to be this tome of badassery and power. Say what you will of Metallica in 2014, but this is the summation of what makes them great, it’s the ultimate fanboy mashup, and powerful tribute to a man who’ll never be bettered.”
Martyr Defiled – 616
Luke Morton: “A staple of pretty much every playlist I’ve made this year and the beatdowns still hit harder than a bulldozer with anger management problems. Plus the inclusion of the Watchmen sound bite makes it so much bigger.”
Machine Head – Sail Into The Black
Lewis Somerscales: “Epic song is epic.”
