Leading up to the end of the year, Revolver has asked some of our favorite artists to pick their Top Albums of 2012 and tell us why each record rules. Here, Sean Parkinson (pictured left), guitarist of the heavy-metal band West of Hell, selects his faves.
5. 3 Inches of Blood, Long Live Heavy Metal
“These guys are awesome. Tight sound on this record. They have a ‘good times’ vibe throughout, with classic riffing. Nods to their heroes like Dio, Thin Lizzy, and Maiden are cool. Manowar couldn’t have come up with a better title themselves.”
4. Testament, Dark Roots of Earth
“Testament are thrash-metal legends. This album is an inspiring piece of work. If you’re a Testament fan, you love this. If you’re a thrash fan, you love this. If you don’t love this, go away.”
3. West of Hell, Spiral Empire
“Well, I gotta pick this one! Not just because it’s my album, but OK, mainly because it’s my album! I’m stoked this is out and that we are working on the next one now. This album is great because it represents years of hard work and determination from a band that shifted to the other side of the planet just to be able to complete the lineup.”
2. Sinate, To the Death
“OK, again, not just picking this one because I used to be in this band. I was stoked when I got my hands on this record. The usual heavy/catchy brand of thrash/death metal from the Sheppard brothers, but with a more mature feel. Awesome.”
1, Cannibal Corpse, Torture
“Same high production levels as the last couple of records with Erik Rutan at the helm. Same relentless, bludgeoning, classic death-metal songs. Same gory artwork. There’s just something about keeping things consistent. Love Cannibal Corpse. Love this album.”
Earlier this year, pyromaniacal metal outfit West of Hell released their debut full-length, Spiral Empire. A fiery personality behind the kit, drummer Andrew Hulme offers here his picks for the five drummers who have influenced him the most.
1. Vinnie Paul, Pantera “Cowboys from Hell was the first metal album I bought when I was 12. Vinnie Paul was the first metal drummer that had a big impact on me.”
2. Nick Menza, Megadeth “I pretty much learned how to play drums to Rust in Peace. At that point I had never taken lessons. That album and Nick Menza were my drum teacher.”
3. Gene Hoglan, Death “I was about 19 when I first heard Gene. I couldn’t get over the complexity of Symbolic and Individual Thought Patterns. It was the heaviest thing I’d heard at that point. It took me years to wrap my head around what Gene was doing on those albums.”
4. Lars Ulrich, Metallica “As much as people slag on the guy for his playing, it’s the simplicity of his style that I like. It’s mostly his slow groove beats that’ve rubbed off on me.”
5. Chris Adler, Lamb of God “Ashes of the Wake was another massively inspiring album. But mainly it was the fact that I learned that he was around 20 when he first got real serious about drumming. I was about the same age when I got heavy into playing. It reassured me that I wasn’t too old to start playing at a high level.”
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West of Hell’s new release, Spiral Empire, is available now at ReversedRecords.com/estore and iTunes. Below, you can check out the band’s new music video, for the song, “Faceless the Droids.” Let us know what you think in the comments.
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