RECIPE #12: Grandma's Pierogi

I hope you're having as lovely a holiday season as I am. People went crazy with Xmas gifts this year, the theme being my newfound enjoyment of following recipes. In addition to assorted clothing items, gift cards and whatnot, my haul included a blender, a food processor, a professional chef's knife, an organic cookbook, fancy oven mitts, a set of cute Coca-Cola glasses, two pitchers, two different spice assortments and one of those rolling island/shelf/cart jobbers. Although I've fulfilled my New Year's resolution - constructing one recipe a month for the entire year - I certainly don't intend to stop. There's not going to be a monthly regimen and report, but believe me, I've caught the cooking bug for good. I may even tell you about it from time to time.

The recipe that inspired the whole endeavor was saved for last. My 100% Polish family cherishes a number of traditional dishes, many of which we only enjoy at the holidays. One of the best-loved staples is pierogi, which contrary to popular Americanization is pronounced in our houses as "pya-DOG-gee," not "pa-RO-gee." Grandma and Grandpa used to work on these little dumplings together every year, filling them with an ever-expanding assortment of treats. However, the pierogi production tapered off after my grandfather passed away in 1996 and my grandmother found it more physically difficult to cook, not to mention carry on a tradition she had maintained with her love of more than half a century. We buy them at a local Polish shop, but they're dinky little things and don't taste the same.

Although we've had homemade pierogi a few times since due to the assistance of my mother or uncle, no one really knew the recipe except Grandma. She's still kicking ass, but she's in her 80s. I decided I wanted to learn how to make them, and I'd write down the steps so that we could preserve a crucial dish before it was lost forever. So, earlier this month, I sat down with Grandma, mom and dad to revive the old tradition. We would have homemade pierogi for Xmas by hook or by crook.

No, that's not cocaine. It's flour, the crucial component of your first step, the dough. I should note that we had the use of Grandma's trusty old Cuisinart for the duration of this recipe, which made it much easier than if we'd done everything with spoons and knives. In fact, the food processor was absolutely essential to Grandma's recollection of pierogi preparation, since she had been using it for a number of years before she stopped making them.

Anyway, we put 2 and 1/2 cups of unsifted flour, 2 egg yolks (egg separators are so cool!), 8 oz. of sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon of salt into the Cuisinart, mixing with the large metal blade rather than the small plastic attachment the manufacturers intended for dough. SoulReaper's family doesn't fuck around with wimpy food processor accessories. There was no speed setting, but Grandma says you'd use "high" on any other machine. We kept mixing until the ingredients began to clump together, then removed the dough, rolled it into a ball, put it in a sealable plastic bag and put it in the fridge. (You should leave it in for at least 5 or 10 minutes, or for as long as you'd like after that.) The process was repeated twice, once for each of the three batches we made.

Our first filling was potato, an identical mixture to the mashed potatoes Grandma used to make. We started by peeling and boiling five large baking potatoes, removing them from the water when soft. Next, we cubed the tubers, not worrying if they crumbled since they were subsequently moved to a bowl and mashed by hand with a fork. At some point during the '80s, Grandma started adding cheese, just enough for a little color and zing but not enough to overpower the natural spud flavor. Thus, we tore up two slices of American cheese and sprinkled them over the mashed potatoes while they were still warm, mixing until all the cheese was melted and blended. After adding 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper (Mom and Dad claim Watkins' is the strongest-flavored brand) and 1 tablespoon of milk, the potatoes got a final blend and were ready to go.

Filling number two was fresh cabbage. As my dad would be quick to tell you, this is different from sauerkraut (kapusta for my Poles) in that you're not brining the cabbage, so it doesn't bite your tongue the same way. Dad handled the task of shredding an entire medium cabbage and chopping one medium white onion while mom and I worked on other things. (Grandma supervised, answering questions and enjoying the process as it unfolded. She was beaming like a kid.) In a large pan with a cover, we melted one stick of unsalted butter and sauteed the onion until it was translucent. After this, all of the cabbage plus 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 3 tablespoons of water and another whole stick of butter went into the pan. This was covered and cooked until it was thoroughly soft, with the occasional stir to distribute moisture.

The third and final filling was the easiest to put together. Cheese pierogi have been favorite of mine since I was a little kid, and remain popular with the children in our family today. I was amazed to find out that it's composed of only three ingredients. The first is 2 cups of cottage cheese. Grandma thought some moisture might be good, so we used one cup of dry curd and one cup of regular, but since the final texture was more liquidy than we'd have preferred, we determined it's better to just use two cups of the dry curd. So, the cottage cheese went into the Cuisinart, along with two eggs and 2 tablespoons of sugar, and we mixed it until it was a smooth, creamy paste. That's all there is to cheese pierogi filling. Simple, eh?

Now that the fillings were ready, we made the dumplings. I took out half of a dough ball, sprinkled out some flour and rolled the bastard as thinly as I could. Turned out we used a tad too much flour in the dough (the measurement was originally 3 cups), so it was mighty tough to roll. This made the pierogi dough a little thicker than usual, about 1/8 inch, although once cooked the dough tasted fine. For each individual dumpling, I used the mouth of a cup roughly four inches in diameter to cut out circles, returning the dough scraps to the bag and the fridge before rolling them out again.

In each of the little circles, I spooned a dollop of filling. It took some trial and error to determine the proper amount of potato, cabbage or cheese to use in each, but I got it down quickly. Then, careful not to let the filling spill out, I folded them in half and crimped the edges shut with a fork so that they both held together and made a cute ridged design along the edge. For the ones that weren't sticking, especially once I was re-using dough scraps that had been rolled several times, I applied a tiny bit of water to the edges with a pastry brush. Once filled and shut, the pierogi were dropped gently into a pot of boiling water and cooked until they floated to the top. We did several at once, making sure not to overcrowd the pot or mix up the batches. When they were ready, we moved them to a pan filled with melted butter. You can brown them if you like, but we just like to coat each side of the pierogi in butter before chowing down.

After repeating the process until all the dough was gone, we ended up with between 16 and 20 of each type of pierogi. That may not seem like a lot, but I remind you, we make big pierogi. This was just enough for Mom, Dad, Grandma, myself and Sassy Frass to have a taste before storing the rest for last night's "Xmas Part 3" dinner, when my cousin's family came up from Indianapolis to celebrate with us. After an overnight with the lady's family and three nights with mine, it's safe to say I'm way past done with Yuletide cheer, but I'm glad we still have a few pierogi left over for a little post-holiday snacking.

Hey, here's an interview with comedian Carlos Mencia that I conducted on Halloween. He didn't use his played-out catchphrase, and I didn't accuse him of stealing jokes from Joe Rogan. I think we were both thankful. Have a safe and happy NYE... I'll see you in January with my best of '07 lists in effect.

2K7 in Review: Music, part 3

Another week, another playlist of 2007 music, this one representing eleven different nations. The next one will reflect my top 10, and you can expect to see looks back at movies and concerts in the forseeable future. Finally, there is my 12th and final recipe, and I have a couple of interviews I've been meaning to post for you. For now, sit back and enjoy the tunes, go see "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," catch up on X-Entertainment's 2007 Advent Calendar (now with video content!) and try not to kill your relatives. Remember the reason for the season: booze!

1. Every Time I Die, "Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Battery" The Big Dirty (Ferret) - The only band truly suited to both Ozzfest and Warped Tour, the sardonic New York quintet cranked out a real corker with their fourth album, bettering their previous jammin' platter. Whereas most "post-hardcore" sounds like plain old rock music to me, these dudes should be the standard for the term, since they actually use hardcore as a base camp for exploring bluesy Southern riffs and thrash metal's rhythmic hooks. Every Time I Die kicks like a mule on PCP on this cranky closing tune, vocalist Keith Buckley approaching tunefulness on the chorus but otherwise matching the music's sleazy peril by shrieking his series of catty lyrical jabs with PBR-fueled vitriol.

2. Sigh, "In Devil's Arms" Hangman's Hymn: Musikalische Exequien (The End) - Japan's most batshit insane metal band has released its first album for my favorite American record label, a shockingly "proper" blend of symphonic black/thrash. Yet the memorability with which the band imbues its unusual concoctions elevates the well-mixed Hangman's Hymn over thousands of generic Dimmu Borgir worshippers, its strange shifts and juxtapositions built seamlessly into songs that would stick with you regardless of the bells and whistles and handclaps, confidently maintaining Sigh's spot as Asia's most fascinating metal act. This particular rocker's fastened to a catchy framework of classic metal, punctuated with Mirai Kawashima's increasingly Muppet-like howl, every pompous swell of synth horns propelling Shinichi Ishikawa's rabid riffs further into the Technicolor darkness.

3. The Octopus Project, "Ghost Moves" Hello, Avalanche (Peek-A-Boo) - I can't tell the difference between "indietronica" and "jamtronica" except who goes to each type of show. But as more acts become proficient in blending electronic dance music with live instrumentation, Austin trio The Octopus Project leads the pack with an intriguing blend of rhythm and melody. Their third proper LP contains their least ponderous work to date, sure to get all sorts of crowds moving to their shifty beats, squalling guitars and swooning theremin. The song at hand, like many of their tunes, follows the ebb-and-flow template of most instrumental post-rockers, but gets its point across in much less time.

4. Novembre, "Bluecracy" The Blue (Peaceville) - Here's an Italian outfit I've meant to check out forever, as they're often mentioned in the same breath as some of my favorite current bands - all of which have incidentally been at one point signed to the same British label that represents Novembre. Here's a typical number that combines the stately shoegazer misery of Katatonia, the mellow/harsh meanderings of Opeth and the sprawling spacescapes of Anathema into a complex, moody haze. While not as immediate, their artsy goth/prog metal forges its own identity by eschewing the overtly poppy elements of those giants. The Blue is Novembre's seventh album, so I've got some catching up to do once its forlorn intricacies have soaked into my brain.

5. Helloween, "See the Night" Gambling With the Devil (SPV) - The godfathers of German power metal have endured plenty of ups and downs, but happily the twelfth full-length to bear the Helloween name is the best in some time. Diversity has long been the key to my continued interest in them, and once freed from the burden of average anthems that hampered their last effort and the largely idiotic lyrics of the one before it, they've come up with a wide range of bracing melodies that service smarter tunes. In typical Helloween fashion, even the B-sides are A-material, and the song I've offered is actually a bonus track of uncredited authorship. This cautionary tale is verbally reminiscent of early Helloween "dude out of control" songs like "Victim of Fate" or "Starlight," and once the chorus gets in your head, it will never leave.

6. The Automatic Automatic, "Raoul" Not Accepted Anywhere (B-Unique/Columbia) - A Welsh dance-punk group hyped to bejeezus in the UK, these guys are actually called The Automatic everywhere except in North America, where another band apparently owns the name. I was shocked at how often I popped in their debut album this summer, as this is not typically "my thing," but I have to admit it's super catchy. Robin Hawkins' vocals lack range and get a little grating over the course of the disc, but they're tempered by screamy background vocals (reminiscent of Tokyo Police Club), bouncy keyboards and pleasingly anthemic choruses. Although Accepted actually came out in '06, the stupidly infectious "Raoul" is one of two tracks the band re-recorded in early 2007 and included on the American version - so it's technically from this year.

7. Finntroll, "Korpens Saga" Ur Jordens Djup (Century Media) - Perhaps the world's most famous folk metal act, the boozers of Finntroll delivered their most professional record yet in Ur Jordens Djup ("From the Depths of the Earth"). While their delightful blend of extreme metal and traditional Finnish humppa is still intact, a heavier production, brooding compositions and Henri Sorvali's cinematic keyboards make it sound more serious than ever before. These slight shifts might serve to sell them to the general metal audience who previously wrote them off as pure goofs, but that's not to say Finntroll does not remain incredibly fun. Just try to sit still while listening to this boisterous rager, which of course goes down even better after a few brews.

8. Grayskul, "The Last Lullaby" Bloody Radio (Rhymesayers) - With the coolest '80s-toy-inspired hip-hop handle next to Optimus Rhyme, Seattle duo Grayskul conjures images of skeleton-faced fortresses piercing purple skies with more than their name. Most of the tracks on their second album are steeped in the mysterious, melodic tradition of serious rap, and MCs JFK and Onry Ozzborn drop so much dark imagery into their ultimately positive-minded rhymes that it ends up like an intellectual twist on horrorcore (gothcore?). Bloody Radio's replay value is high due to the variety offered under that aegis, allowing tricks such as the Kanye-style sped-up soul sample on this understated creeper to blend into the shadowy whole.

9. Tegan & Sara, "Like O, Like H" The Con (Sire) - Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin used to be a regular folk-pop duo, but at this point they've got a cool mix of detailed tunefulness and nervous energy going on. Their fifth LP walks the mature pop line between exuberance and disillusion, the former felt in the music, the latter in the lyrics as well as the album title. I think I like Sara's voice better, as her stridence is a bit more characteristic and cuts more cleanly through the obsessively arranged tracks. Here's one of hers, edgily catchy in a way that fleshes out her sister's simpler numbers, giving the album a far more sumptuous and satisfying sheen than your average lightweight grrl-pop confection.

10. Mael Mórdha, "Atlas of Sorrow" Gealtacht Mael Mórdha (Grau) - One of several international acts the second Heathen Crusade introduced me to, this melancholy Irish quintet plays what they refer to as "Gaelic doom metal." These guys blend Irish folk influences with metal with more success than many, sticking to laments rather than spoiling the obsidian mood with happy-sounding jigs. Plenty of traditional instruments factor into their sound, which often reminds me of their mighty countrymen Primordial's early material, but slower and with no growly vocals. Mael Mórdha does not remain at a snail's pace, building to furious crescendos as heard in this mammoth opening track.

11. Dublin Death Patrol, "Trail of the Executioner" DDP 4 Life (Godfodder) - Dublin Death Patrol is not another Irish group, but a project by a bunch of old dudes who grew up in the East Bay burb of Dublin, California. Guitarist Phil Demmel (Vio-Lence) and bassist Willy Lange (Lääz Rockit) are the only "name" players except for the vocalists: grizzled Chuck Billy of Testament fame and gremlin-voiced Steve "Zetro" Souza, who was Exodus' screecher during their prime MTV years as well as Testament's original vocalist back when they were still called Legacy. If all this impresses you, then check out the disc, but know that it's not the raging thrash feast you'd want from the dudes who hollered on The Gathering and Tempo of the Damned. Outside of a bunch of cover songs, this totally '80s-style job is their most memorable number; most of it just sounds like old friends having fun, which is cool for them but does not make a bona fide classic.

12. Okkervil River, "You Can't Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man" The Stage Names (Jagjaguwar) - Folky indie rockers Okkervil River fill their songs with dense lyrics and musical ideas. This is hardly a novelty in their milieu, but while obvious intellectualism tints the songs, it doesn't drag them into dullsville. Okkervil River's rootsy affectations also lend a warmth to their fourth album, cozy tones caressing the starry-eyed and sarcastic verbiage of a concept record about losing oneself among the wreckage of popular culture, tossed off by bandleader Will Sheff with a sort of nervous nonchalance. This is a pleasant enough tune, but pay attention to the words, which paint a far darker picture than the carefree pop melody they accompany.

13. They Might Be Giants, "Upside Down Frown" The Else (Idlewild/Zoë) - LP number 12 for Brooklyn's Ambassadors of Love doesn't disappoint the die-hards. Likely due to production assistance from the Dust Brothers, there's a lot more electronic influence to be heard here, not something John and John have ignored in the past but also not something they've utilized to this degree. Elsewhere, there are some surprisingly good Big Rockers (not always their strong suit), and a few off-kilter diversions as expected, all delivered with consummate musicianship and enough production detail to justify the somewhat sterile studio sound TMBG has utilized for their recent recordings. Some of the tunes are real growers, but this zippy little masterpiece voiced by John Linnell grabbed me right away. It's what they've always done best: brief, clever, quirky and infectiously melodic.

14. Darkest Hour, "Tunguska" Deliver Us (Victory) - By 2007, melodic death metal seems as old as Methuselah to me. There's nothing a band can do today that's going to blow away the old Swedish greats, especially a bunch of shorthairs from D.C. That said, Darkest Hour do a bang-up job with the style, bringing in some variety from modern American metal but not totally falling in line with that crowd. For instance, they don't slow their momentum with endless hardcore breakdowns, preferring traditional metal interludes to redundant bludgeoning. Sure, you get some so-so clean vocals and some familiar riffing, but tell me that this, the longest tune on their latest album, doesn't crackle with genuine metal enthusiasm.

15. Epica, "Beyond Belief" The Divine Conspiracy (Nuclear Blast) - I'm glad to report that Dutch prog metallers Epica didn't wimp out now that they've got better international representation. Unlike many metal bands featuring an attractive young female vocalist, they're not letting that be their defining characteristic, and while Simone Simons is as lovely as ever, the band's intricate symphonic stylings rely heavily on her bandmates for twists and turns. Guitarist Mark Jansen, formerly of After Forever, maintains the balance of light and heavy, simple and tricky, pretty and powerful that his previous band embodied until he departed. This track from their third proper album trades fretboard fireworks for memorability, but is more lively than their ethereal ballads.

16. 65daysofstatic, "These Things You Can't Unlearn" The Destruction of Small Ideas (Monotreme) - This British quartet has gotten a lot of hype across the pond. The Cure hand-picked 65daysofstatic to open their North American tour in the spring, so be prepared to hear more about them here. Their third album is my first exposure, and I find their electro/post-rock hybrid a cut above simply due to the tone and volume of their guitars, which as you can hear can often be described as genuinely metal. Tricky guitar wrangling is complemented by busy electronic beats and equally crazy live drums, with no cruddy singing to interrupt the flowing squalls or pastoral ambient interludes. The fuzzy, amorphous mass of sound these cats conjure is truly mesmerizing.

17. Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, "Keep On Looking" 100 Days, 100 Nights (Daptone) - You say you want fresh soul tunes done the way you hear them on the oldies channel? The third album by Brooklyn's Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings will rock your ass, because they play rhythm and blues with funky live rhythms and actual blues influence. Last year, the Dap-Kings played on most of Amy Winehouse's big hit album, and they backed her on a trainwreck she called a "U.S. tour," although the relative lack of hullabaloo over their contribution says a lot about the American record biz. No matter, because Jones is a far more authentic vintage soul belter than the Rehab Queen, as on songs like this she pours out her heart with jaded but still hopeful resolve.

18. Vintersorg, "Perfektionisten" Solens Rötter (Napalm) - "Nordic Folk Metal Comeback of the Year!" hollers the sticker on the cover. I certainly wouldn't go that far, but Andreas Hedlund has indeed gone back to the earlier days of his Vintersorg project, at least in part. Solens Rötter ("The Roots of the Sun") is the first Vintersorg album sung entirely in Swedish since 1999's brilliant Ödemarkens Son. The folky focus of his early discs appears here and there, very strongly in this track. But it's not entirely a throwback to Vintersorg's cosmic forest pagan days, because he melds the tuneful acoustics with the hermetically sealed prog rhythms of his recent albums. It's a good combination, but it doesn't completely gel over the course of the disc. I get the feeling that if he keeps tinkering with this hybrid, Hedlund's next disc will blow this one away.

19. Megadeth, "Washington is Next!" United Abominations (Roadrunner) - I never would have expected fucking Megadeth to make my also-rans this year, considering I lost interest in Dave Mustaine's musical endeavors more than decade ago. Yet, after much floundering, melodrama and bull-fucking-shit, Dave hired half of Eidolon and the old bassist from White Lion and delivered a pretty decent album. UA is at least as good as the mid-era Megadeth albums (the ones that sold a lot but didn't suck as bad as Metallica's sell-out tunes), having bettered 2004's The System Has Failed, which was in turn a huge improvement on 2001's The World Needs a Hero and the radio crap he was peddling for the half-decade before it. This melodic, paranoid anti-government rocker tastes a little Maiden-y, and it actually picks up into a thrash metal rhythm during the solo section. It could be - and has been - a lot worse.

20. Ween, "Your Party" La Cucaracha (Rounder) - We close with the final track from Ween's ninth proper LP, a fitting send-off for these days of soirées. Despite their reputation as a novelty/jam bandleaders, Dean and Gene have more going for them than a wicked sense of humor and instrumental endurance. They're great tunesmiths in a variety of styles, which remains evident on La Cucaracha's forays into trip-pop, Eurodance, hillbilly folk, dub, psychedelia, asshole rawk, folk, prog and, on this gem, smooth jazz-flavored adult contemporary. Hey, Gener himself told me that they're big Steely Dan fans, so I guess this is sort of a tribute, with David Sanborn on sax and hysterical lyrics to boot.

2K7 in Review: Music, part 2

Here's another batch of songs that saw release in 2007. I'm sure you'll like something here. If not, you were probably looking for the Charles Bukowski Ate My Balls! page. Sorry. Maybe you'd make due with a review of Crispin Hellion Glover's new movie? I've been in the same room with him three times this year, you know.

1. The Go! Team, "The Wrath of Marcie" Proof of Youth (Sub Pop) - Although their songs are often interchangeable and their albums so far inconsistent, the excitingly named English sextet The Go! Team have a mighty unique approach to genre-bending. Their candy-colored, sunny day mash-up of '70s pop-funk, '80s party rap and '90s indie rock fills every corner of the listening space with something bright. This jammin' tune from their second LP is a good representative, reliably cutting through the winter blues by suggesting the childhood joy of jumpropes, skinned knees and melting Bomb Pops.

2. Mistress, "31.6.7 Drown It" The Glory Bitches of Doghead (FETO) - As vibrant and cute as Brighton's The Go! Team are, things get bleaker up north in Birmingham. Those sick motherfuckers known as Mistress have returned, presumably bloodied and muddied from drunken sewer brawls, with a stronger focus on the crusty, grindy part of their signature sound. But the quintet also traffics in hypnotically filthy sludge. At the end of their fourth album, they lay down this ear-punishing synthesis of doom and black metal, stripped of pretense and romance, stabbed through the guts and left to savor the savage static of studio sadism.

3. Amorphis, "Towards and Against" Silent Waters (Nuclear Blast) - On a magic carpet of psychedelic Scandinavian prog-pop-goth metal, the veteran Finns of Amorphis soar ahead on their second disc with versatile vocalist Tomi Joutsen, which also happens to be the second since they became comfortable with why fans like their older albums. Silent Waters doesn't better any of its predecessors, but it's a remarkably consistent and engrossing record all the same. I'm so glad they went back to Finnish folklore for lyrical inspiration, and I'm still thankful they brought back the death metal roars, heard here alongside Joutsen's mournful croon - the growls are simply crucial to the sonic diversity this band embodies at their best.

4. The Frantic, "Fast Girl" Audio & Murder (Sinister Muse/Empyrean) - These local teens are getting some play on the area's big alternative rock station, which you'd think would be a turn-off to me. However, there's nothing smarmy or maudlin or pretentious or remotely "emo" about their debut, an infectious blast of big suburban hooks that's over before you have a chance to get tired. In attitude and vibrancy, The Frantic is thankfully as different from the pop-punk arena stars that our geographic location has recently spawned as a band can be. Check out this incredibly fun tune, snotty and cruel like Screeching Weasel in their prime.

5. Skinny Puppy, "Dal" Mythmaker (Synthetic Symphony) - As happy as I was to hear that cult industrial act Skinny Puppy had reformed, as satisfied as I was by their live show after having painfully missed them back in high school, I was disappointed with their first return to the studio in 2004. It was certainly unique, progressive and political as expected, but the Canadian icons' updated IDM beats overwhelmed the creepy/dreamy atmospheres one wants from Skinny Puppy. I am pleased to report that Mythmaker is a lot more satisfying to the longtime fan, with a number of songs which, like the one at hand, integrate their classic theatrical spookshow tendencies and dense audio mix with their desire to keep pace with modern electronic experimentalists.

6. Gamma Ray, "From the Ashes" Land of the Free II (SPV) - Just as his former band Helloween brought unreasonable anticipation upon themselves by titling their last album Keeper of the Seven Keys - The Legacy, Kai Hansen set up GR loyalists like myself to be underwhelmed by making this album a "sequel." Land of the Free is my FAVORITE album of the 1990s. It thoroughly resparked my interest in metal at a time it had waned, and its melody, energy and optimism literally saved my life at its absolute nadir. There was no way a part two could compare, even though, as heard in this song, Kai's busted out more speed than he has in recent years and ditched the increasingly stale sci-fi shtick for his old themes of community, sedition and liberation. No, it's not as good as the original, but Land II is the best Gamma Ray album in recent memory. If the aged Germans are gonna go through the motions, I'd prefer that they go through these motions.

7. Superchrist, "No Color" Headbanger (Professor Black) - I'd pegged Superchrist as a greasy, Motörhead-style punk metal band, but now that I've heard their latest work, I'm thinking more NWOBHM. Although no major flash or thrash is on display, there's something effortless about the trio's honest, old school, bad attitude metal which keeps it heartily engaging. As evidence of their craft, Headbanger was self-released by bassist, vocalist, journalist and fellow Gamma Ray junkie Chris Black with pro packaging and decent sound. Consequently, many of the songs (such as this Maiden-soaked, less-sleazy-than-usual burner) rock far more convincingly than much of the banal "true metal" crud the labels are pushing.

8. Ozma, "Motorology 3:39" Pasadena (About a Girl) - When I got the previous album by geek pop specialists Ozma, I had no appreciation for it and actually sold it to a used CD shop, where an incredulous kid gladly took it off my hands. Now I wish I still had it to go back to, because four years later, the California quartet has reunited for one of the best pure pop records I've heard in ages. Little touches of emo and metally solos spice it up, as do some electronic embellishments as heard on this winsome number. Still, it's the breezy songwriting that sticks with you, and the choruses are uniformly catchy.

9. One Man Army and the Undead Quartet, "The Sun Never Shines" Error in Evolution (Nuclear Blast) - Johan Lindstrand, onetime vocalist of The Crown, returns with the second disc from his Swedish wrecking crew. The Quartet moves around a lot on this disc, from some blatant metalcore moves to vicious death/thrash, all with a classic sense of metal songwriting. In the midst of a trend of retro thrash that intentionally sounds straight out of 1986, Error manages to sound totally modern while integrating '80s vibes and amounts to a pretty fun little record. This somewhat complex tune starts at a melodic trudge before rocketing into a meaty thrashfest, and the chorus rules.

10. Deathspell Omega, "The Repellent Scars of Abandon and Election" Fas - Ite, Maledicti, in Ignem Aeternum (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) - Despite its desire to shock, black metal is usually no more scary than its packaging, and most avant-garde black metal acts indulge in pure art school wankery compared to Deathspell Omega. The French/Finnish duo's approach to anti-Xtian metal manages to be intellectually provocative and psychotically feral at once. Their new disc (the Latin title means "By Divine Law - Go, You Cursed, Into the Eternal Fire") is a nightmare ride through extreme musical realms that seek to disturb, distort and disrupt, and succeeds on all fronts. I can't listen to this every day, as it might make me commit homicide, but must admit they've taken their elite art to another alarming level.

11. Fu Manchu, "We Must Obey" We Must Obey (Century Media) - I was never a big fan of what they call "desert rock" or, more correctly, "stoner rock," as it's primarily doom metal cleaned, lightened and boogified for radio rock audiences. Therefore, genre reps Fu Manchu have hovered just outside my radar since their third album, which I heard in college but wrote off as lightweight, although when I saw them a coupla years ago, they put on a pretty smoking show. In 2007, their debut for Century Media hits, and compared to the mainstream hard rock of today, they sound like geniuses. Opening the album, the title track is pure belligerent rawk that shits all over whatever gazillion-selling cock rock tripe Josh Homme farted out last week.

12. Candlemass, "Emperor of the Void" King of the Grey Islands (Nuclear Blast) - I mentioned doom metal back there. Here's one of the genre's legendary names, which bassist Leif Edling has lead through numerous incarnations over the decades. Losing classic vocalist Messiah Marcolin so soon after his glorious return in 2004, Edling made a smart move in drafting singer Robert Lowe of Texan legends Solitude Aeturnus. Similarly dramatic but with a completely different vocal style from Marcolin, Lowe is already beloved by doom faithful, and his emotive wail fits the band's bloodshot gloom like an icicle into an eye socket. Listen to the dark, heeeaaavy Swedish riff in the chorus of this song - this is why people love Candlemass.

13. múm, "Guilty Rocks" Go Go Smear the Poison Ivy (Fat Cat) - OK, let's keep it in Scandinavia but break from the hard stuff for a little Icelandic magic. Not as famous as their countrymates Sigur Rós, múm creates warm, fuzzy, melodic soundscapes of electronic and acoustic origins. Their latest disc comes after co-founding twin sisters Gyða and Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir departed, and Kristín's distinctive little-girl vocals are missed. However, it's a brighter and more structured album than 2004's Summer Make Good, presenting as always a bevy of unique, whimsical or eerie sounds but in service of accessible songs. The one at hand's got a melodica, horns, a wistful vocal and beats that sound like they're sampled from water droplets.

14. The Dillinger Escape Plan, "Nong Eye Gong" Ire Works (Relapse) - Another group of experimentalists who lost a founding member, The Dillinger Escape Plan's first recording without drummer Chris Pennie (who left for a better paycheck with Coheed & Cambria) finds the band more comfortable with the straightforward structures they tried out last time. Vocalist Greg Puciato pulls out his best Mike Patton on a number of reasonably-paced tunes, which are admittedly very infectious, and Stolen Babies drummer Gil Sharone is a suitably freaky replacement for Pennie. However, what one really wants from Dillinger is wide-eyed, vein-popping whirlwinds of insane math-grind. Ire Works has enough tunes like this one to break up the pleasanties.

15. Suspyre, "April in the Fall" A Great Divide (Nightmare) - For me to get into a progressive power metal band, I need good songwriting rather than a lot of flowery chops that you can't remember. I mean, memorability is crucial to good power metal. New Jersey's Suspyre deserves some attention pronto, because while these dudes can certainly play their asses off, they also keep your attention with solid hooks. In this regard, their second album is a big step up from their first self-released disc, which hopefully means they're going to get sharper. The crunchy verses of this infectious tune remind me of misaligned metalcore mongers Killswitch Engage, not something you'd expect from a band with clean vocals and so many insane deedly-doo solos.

16. Battles, "Snare Hangar" Mirrored (Warp) - Another supergroup featuring former Helmet drummer John Stanier, Battles has some similarities to Tomahawk (see #5 on the previous playlist) in their mix of electronic and traditional rock instruments, but this entity is lighter and loopier. The quartet seems to be cross-breeding indie rock, jamtronica, IDM, prog and jazz fusion. On their first full-length, guitarist Tyondai Braxton adds vocals to the previously instrumental band's arsenal, and while they sometimes verge on annoyance, Braxton's cartoony manipulations sound mighty cool mixed into short bursts of rubbery alien funk such as this.

17. Vital Remains, "Reborn... The Upheaval of Nihility" Icons of Evil (Century Media) - The main problem with Vital Remains' new disc is that it's far too similar to its predecessor to leave anything like the lasting impression Dechristianize did. If you didn't get enough of that disc's admittedly impressive marathons of brutal Satanical death tempered by baronial guitar harmony respites, here are some more. The band's lyrical fixation on comic book E-V-I-L is still completely ridiculous. But despite the diminishing returns, it's impossible to fault the performances on tunes like "Reborn," with everyone from guitarist/drummer (!) Dave Suzuki to unintentionally hilarious on-loan-from-Deicide growler Glen Benton sounding primed and pissed. Dig the acoustic flamenco flourishes about 3:20 in!

18. Wu-Tang Clan, "Get Them Out Ya Way Pa" 8 Diagrams (SRC) - Well, six years after Iron Flag and three years after Ol' Dirty Bastard passed away, we finally get another Wu-Tang Clan disc. Of course, all the infighting preceding its release taints it, alongside the absence of Dirt Dog's levity, but 8 Diagrams is an intriguingly stormy album on its own musical merits. RZA's typically stark production goes off in interesting tangents, yet as usual, it's the dark, brooding stuff that gives it that raw Wu-Tang flavor. The MCs sling some great rhymes, too, such as the deadly science Method Man, U-God and Masta Killa each bring to their verses on this hypnotic, guest-free track. Complete with the requisite kung fu samples, the album proves that Wu-Tang Clan still ain't nothin' to fuck with.

19. Ensiferum, "Deathbringer from the Sky" Victory Songs (Spinefarm) - The battling Finns of Ensiferum don't have the serious cultural pretentions found in much of the pagan metal scene, although that does pretty much make them just a bunch of grown men who are real into swords and ancient garb. With a Viking-ish theme probably more inspired by Manowar than Ásatrú, it was inevitable that they'd become more of a power metal band as time went on, and by record number three, that's about where they're at, although the folk and death metal influences are still very evident. Despite thinking of them as more of a "fun" band than some of their po-faced pagan peers, I don't mean to denigrate Ensiferum, and in fact commend them for continuing to turn in rousing sing-alongs like this.

20. Shroud of Bereavement, "A Rose for a Dying Muse" Alone Beside Her (Screaming Ferret) - We end this round with a magnificent dirge by an elegantly brutal act from New England who sound European as hell. Two keyboardists, male/female beauty-and-the-beast vocals, extra strings and film samples add to the dramatic heft, hanging like the garment that provides the band's name over alternately painful and pastoral symphonic doom/death. I have no idea why this veteran act isn't more widely known in the States, but surely that will soon become a thing of the past. This epic, written years ago by vocalist/gutarist Dan Robinson as a heartfelt elegy to a deceased friend, is a good indication of the band's ambitions, emotions and talents.

2K7 in Review: Music, part 1

Howdy gang! I'm about to attempt something crazy, but with your help and/or interest, it should go pretty smoothly. Please leave some feedback, as it would be nice to know I'm not doing this purely for my own amusement.

Every week for the next four weeks, I'm going to post twenty songs that were released this year for your listening pleasure. I did some of these back in March, and I promise not to repeat anything featured there. As you can see, the first new bunch is already streaming to your right. Expect new ones every week, so if you're curious about what I've enjoyed in 2007, this series of virtual mixtapes is your guide. Of course, this is all leading up to a grand finale wherein I will gush about the albums that stood out the most to me. So, consider all of the songs you'll see here for the next three weeks to be superior moments from discs that range from decent to very good, but are not in my final ten. The results may surprise you!

Here's a brief look at each of the current tunes on offer. Please give them a spin, and if you discover something that blows your mind, please let me know.

1. Nightwish, "The Poet and the Pendulum," Dark Passion Play (Spinefarm) - With the very public and hostile ousting of soprano Tarja Turunen from the lead vocal spot, I figured the Finnish superstars were done, at least for me. I was really into their early power/goth/symphonic metal, but recent attempts to "heavy it up" didn't sit well with me. Well, it turns out that rock-oriented Swedish vocalist Annette Olzon fits their current style much better than Tarja did, and while Tarja's new solo record kinda blows, Dark Passion Play is pretty decent. This lead-off track is a real statement of intent by bandleader Tuomas Holopainen, nearly 14 minutes of the sweeping drama and fireworks one expects from Nightwish.

2. Mac Lethal, "Jihad!" 11:11 (Rhymesayers) - This Scribble Jam-winning rapper is from Kansas City, a fact of which he reminds you very often on his debut for indie hip-hop stable Rhymesayers. A bit more aggressive than your typical backpacker, Mac Lethal also leaves room for introspection among many harsh and pointed critiques. He's a fairly blunt lyricist, not flashy with technique, yet he's as smart as your average academic MC. Some of the beats on 11:11 are too gimmicky for me, but this tune is tons of fun, from its religion-bashing to its chant-along chorus.

3. High on Fire, "Waste of Tiamat," Death is This Communion (Relapse) - One of a handful of Relapse acts that have inexplicably found favor with the indie rock crowd, guitarist Matt Pike's power trio remains oblivious to this and soldiers on in their signature war-torn doom/thrash style. Part shaman, part barbarian, Pike cranks out cranky riffs bred from Black Sabbath, Venom, Celtic Frost and other no-nonsense metal forefathers while maintaining a nearly blissful sense of abandon. It was hard to pick a representative track, but this mystical caveman basher should do the trick.

4. Limbonic Art, "Nebulous Dawn," Legacy of Evil (Nocturnal Art) - One of my most anticipated comeback records of the year was this sixth platter by Norwegian duo Limbonic Art. Unlike most black metal bands who utilize electronic drums, these dudes never get dancy, nor do they try to cover them up. Legacy is in line with their later, more guitar-oriented material, its barrage of percussion, hammering guitars and sweeping synths creating a perfectly enveloping nocturnal atmosphere. Like most good Norwegian black metal, it typically moves too fast for legit hangbanging. Just sit back and let this tale of Earth's destruction pummel away.

5. Tomahawk, "Mescal Rite 1," Anonymous (Ipecac) - Although the supergroup Tomahawk already had two excellent albums to their name, it wasn't until now that they began to address anything related to that moniker. With Kevin Rutmanis departing during the recording, former Jesus Lizard guitarist Duane Denison also took over bass duties for this disc of "original arrangements inspired by Native American material from the late 19th century." I have no idea if that attribution is true or bogus, but Denison, vocalist Mike Patton and percussionist John Stanier hold a hugely engrossing art rock pow wow. This song, like many on Anonymous, utilizes worldless vocals, which makes it seem more like something Fantômas, one of Patton's other bands, would do.

6. Slough Feg, "Tiger! Tiger!" Hardworlder (Cruz del Sur) - The cult San Francisco horde continues to craft heavy metal in its rawest, purest form, albeit with the occasional Celtic touch. I got to see these dudes three times this year - with two different drummers - and each set was equally intense. Hardworlder is a relatively low-key record for Slough Feg, as the songs generally stay midtempo, but the combination of stunning guitar harmonies and Mike Scalzi's unmistakable croon/growl carry tunes like this one to realms beyond your average underacheiving "true" metal biters. A note for all Maiden/Priest/Lizzy fans: the last half of "Tiger!" is pure guitar bliss.

7. Entombed, "Serpent Saints," Serpent Saints - The Ten Amendments (Threeman) - The long-awaited Serpent Saints is a letdown from the ever-shifting Entombed. Truth be told, the majority of the tracks seem lifeless or half-formed, and contrary to the decency of their recent diverse material, the Swedes only really come up aces here when they drag out the ol' 1991 Stockholm death metal vibe. It's unfair to blame the record on the completely new rhythm section, but it's tempting. This kickoff tune is one of the few keepers, with a cool horror flick-style piano intro, a groovy Motörhead bass line, and plenty of chainsaw guitars sawing away - even if it's only Alex Hellid playing them by himself anymore.

8. Modest Mouse, "Spitting Venom," We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Epic) - Okay, I'm not lining up to suck Isaac Brock's cock, but only otherwise owning their debut 7", I do like this new Modest Mouse album. Sometimes the indie rock megastars - who happened to form in the Washington town where my uncle, aunt and cousin now live - still get on my nerves, usually on the dancier tracks where Brock's herky-jerk howl makes their white-boy funk all the more painfully white. But Modest Mouse is not the Spin Doctors, as they have a sense of atmosphere and decorum. This mini-epic gets to rocking pretty hard, but it never wears me out.

9. Turisas, "A Portage Into the Unknown," The Varangian Way (Century Media) - Album number two for Finnish sword-hoisters Turisas took three years to surface. It feels more "serious" overall than their action-packed debut, edging away from their more cartoonish countrymen Ensiferum and toward a gigantic, cinematic Viking metal ideal, or at least a more easily digested version of Moonsorrow. While the synth orchestrations are gleefully fakey, especially when contrasted with a real accordion, the massive choirs and stout-hearted Scandinavian folk melodies of this seafaring song are a fine indication of what Turisas can do. Best of all, it's a pretty heavy recording, which helps balance the saccharine symphonics.

10. The Coral, "In the Rain," Roots & Echoes (Deltasonic) - Boy, talk about a band that fell from grace. The Coral's self-titled debut was an intoxicating retro Britpop revelation, a cornerstone of what came to be known as "cosmic scouse" because of its Liverpool-by-way-of-Jupiter sensibility. Yet, the sextet kinda screwed themselves by releasing alternately pleasantly subdued or petulantly spastic material since. R&E is their fourth proper LP, it hasn't sold very well in England and hasn't even been released in the States yet. I still like them, as they've settled into a gloomy roots/psych/garage pop groove which, while no scratch on that amazing kitchen sink debut, is frequently very enjoyable. This tune features Oasis' Noel Gallagher on guest guitar, but don't hold that against it.

11. HORSE the band, "His Purple Majesty," A Natural Death (Koch) - In a year that saw the combination of quirky metalcore and 8-bit Nintendo theme music becoming a somewhat unlikely trend with the kids, the original Nintendocore kings from California made strides toward an even more unique sound. HORSE the band's second album is a diverse gallop through bizarre, funky, destructive, goofy and sometimes meditative modes, with funk and new wave touches making it slightly more accessible, yet unlike anything else out there. This song, which I think is about a malevolent penis, manages to be gleefully catchy and disturbing at once.

12. Beneath the Massacre, "Sleepless," Mechanics of Dysfunction (Prosthetic) - An even more unlikely trend than Nintendocore was this year's explosion of technical death metal and/or grindcore acts. For every obnoxious gaggle of garage-level spazzcore incompetence foisted upon the Hot Topic crowd, several seriously proficient metal bands seemed to rise in response. Montreal's Beneath the Massacre is one of the most engaging of these, no surprise since Canada has long been a primary source for aggressive instrumental mastery. This closing track from their debut LP shows the quartet has a lot of genuine crunch and groove to go with their stentorian blast, and even approaches memorability, a rare quality for this type of music.

13. Explosions in the Sky, "Catastrophe and the Cure," All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (Temporary Residence) - Here's some more lovely guitar action for you. Explosions in the Sky didn't exactly top their past work this year, as many of their swirling instrumentals are similar in structure and emotional impact. Still, the quartet's soft beds of chiming shoegazer bliss continue to nestle warm melodies which never fail to swell in the chest. The picturesque peaks and valleys of this track are indicative of the beauty these guys evoke on a regular basis, and the fact that no cruddy vocals muck it up makes it even better.

14. Dark Tranquillity, "Empty Me," Fiction (Century Media) - I hate to admit it, but on their new record, melodic death metal legends Dark Tranquillity seem to be treading water. The results are still often mighty fine, as on this characteristic number featuring lots of sharp Gothenburg guitarwork, bracing keyboards and fantastic drumming by the ever-underrated Anders Jivarp. But at times, Fiction is like a weak carbon copy of their last two commendable platters, which saw the august Swedes refocused on aggressive melodies while integrating the progressive spirit that had caused them to flounder for a while. That restless "experimentation" is back here, and it unfortunately tends to drag the back half of the record down.

15. Federico Aubele, "Este Momento," Panamericana (Eighteenth Street Lounge) - Endowed with one of the richest audio mixes I've heard all year, Argentine hipster Federico Aubele goes for a sensual mix of Latin folk and electronic textures that sounds like a late summer evening. His second album is sexy enough for dancin' or sexin', but is also a great headphone record to savor when you're all by your lonesome. There are a lot of great tracks on Panamericana, many cooed by breathy Latinas who'll raise goosebumps on your goosebumps, but something about the insistent rhythm of this tune really grabs me.

16. Samael, "On the Rise," Solar Soul (Nuclear Blast) - I lost track of Swiss electro-metallers Samael a few years ago, when it appeared they were shedding their more aggressive tendencies and trying for some mainstream success. Since my interest in industrialized metal has dropped a great deal in recent years, I never heard 2004's Reign of Light and have no idea if it's any good, but this year they definitely won me back. Stomping ahead with the imposing martial countenance of a satanic Laibach, Solar Soul is the product of the Samael I first got into back in the '90s (around the Passage era). There are faster tunes on display, but I think this one goes at the perfect pace for this stuff.

17. Stereo Total, "Moderne Musik," Paris <-> Berlin (Kill Rock Stars) - My first exposure to this pan-European duo is a positive one. The German dude sounds effete and disaffected, while the French lady usually sounds like she just arrived at a birthday party. Together, they give their music a winsome range echoed in diverse songwriting, hopping from disco to chanson to kiddie punk to electro to bossa nova. This is one of the peppiest numbers on their eighth album, punctuated with fun sci-fi sound effects that give the already effervescent pop-punk a unique, exploratory energy.

18. Elvenking, "Poison Tears," The Scythe (AFM) - Italian folk metal favorites Elvenking decided upon a concept album for their fourth LP. I'm not exactly sure how the story goes, even after several reads through the lyrics, but I think it has something to do with death and/or the Grim Reaper, who may or may not be female. The dark subject matter gave them an excuse to put a little more crunch in the guitars and heft in the rhythms, making for their heaviest outing yet. But since their demo days, one of my favorite things about the pagan power-folkies has been their embrace of more "extreme" elements like thrash metal riffs and death metal growls, so the transistion is natural. "Poison Tears" seemed a bit metalcore when I first heard it - that's not the case now, but it's definitely not a Ye Olde style folk metal tune.

19. Devendra Banhart, "Shabop Shalom," Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon (XL) - We keep the folk going with "freak folk" apostle Banhart. OK, I think the dude is waaaay overrated, and seeing him live didn't do anything to convince me otherwise. This album is my first full exposure to his studio stuff, and I find it ponderous and directionless for the most part. A few of the songs do manage to gel into something tuneful or interesting, and then there's this one, which has Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi on it and wherein Devendra swoons and flutters like a '60s crooner as he delivers a wordy love song to a rabbi's daughter. It's so not like the rest of the disc; it sticks out like a novelty tune. I must admit, his lyrics here are charming, clever and perfectly arranged.

20. Thurisaz, "Circadian Rhythm," Circadian Rhythm (Shiver) - We close with one of my favorite metal discoveries of the year: Thurisaz, not to be confused with Turisas at #9. Horns high to the hard-working guys who arrange Chicago Powerfest (next year already looks fantastic - Suidakra and Darkane!) for bringing this underground Belgian quintet over. Their style draws from melodic death, black, gothic and progressive metal, making for a beautifully moody, congruous and organic Eurometal immersion. While reminding me of a lot of my favorite bands, Thurisaz delivered a more engrossing, satisfying album in Circadian Rhythm than many of the bigger metal names bothered to this year, and it deserves to be heard by anyone into dark, textured, majestic and intelligent modern metal. Plus, I am proud to say that I partied with these dudes, and they're cool as hell.