In this post I'd like to briefly highlight the best albums from bay area bands. I'm not going to rank them this time, and I'm going to skip Fallujah and Cyborg Octopus since I covered them in my Best 16 albums of 2016 list. I'm also going to be skipping some of the obvious ones like Death Angel, Testament, Autopsy, Neurosis, and some small band that rhymes with ShmeShmallica (I don't want to get sued by some guy that rhymes with Shmars Shmulrich). Without further ado, here they are in no particular order.
Free Salamander Exhibit - Undestroyed
This "new" band out of Oakland was born out of the ashes of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. If you're familiar with that band at all, you'll know exactly what to expect here. The only thing missing is the wonderful Carla Kihlstedt.
Hammers of Misfortune - Dead Revolution
This progressive metal band out of San Francisco is a blast from the past. The keyboards sound reminiscent of Yes and Boston. The groove heavy riffs are straight out of Blue Oyster Cult and Deep Purple. Laid over the top is a stoner vibe with the vocals. This is such a fun record.
Lycus - Chasms
Oakland's Lycus play a brand of dark, brooding, slow, funeral doom. Chasms sets itself apart from the doom crowd by mixing black metal into the fold. Perfect if you're in the mood for depression and despair.
Enigma - Stars Misaligned
When I was putting together my list of Top EPs of 2016, I completely spaced and forgot to consider Stars Misaligned. San Jose's Enigma help prove that the bay area tech death scene is ON POINT.
Hemotoxin - Biological Enslavement
On the outskirts of the bay area in the far east bay is Hemotoxin from Pittsburg, CA. There's nothing revolutionary about Biological Enslavement, it's just a solid thrash album.
Necrot - The Labyrinth
This modern old school death metal band out of San Francisco sounds awful in the best way possible. Whether or not the poor audio quality is intentional, it adds to the old school feel.
Brian Andres and the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel - This Could Be That
How about some latin jazz to break up all the METARZ?! The Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel is a latin jazz ensemble led by drummer Brian Andres. As with most latin jazz, this just makes me want to get up and dance.
Brain Drill - Boundless Obscenity
Bay area purists will argue that Santa Cruz is not part of the bay area. Who cares, this band is worth mentioning. Boundless Obscenity is a lean 35 minutes of tech death brutality, and DAMN that album art is sick!
Worm Ouroboros - What Graceless Dawn
Comprised of members from San Francisco and Oakland, this doom trio play a really slow burning brand of doom. It takes a long time before it really kicks into gear, but it's worth the patience.
Lotus Thief - Gramarye
San Francisco's Lotus thief is kind of hard to describe. I wrote down doomy dream rock gaze. Whatever the hell it is, it kicks ass, and they will be playing the Golden Bull on February 19. Roll through!
Ghoul - Dungeon Bastards
This deathy thrash band out of Oakland...sorry, Creepsylvania...is a silly masked band with silly names. Their live show looks like a lot of fun, like something you'd get at Gwar or Slipknot. That album art is pretty sick too.
Mondo Drag - The Occultation of Light
Mondo Drag is a psychadelic stoner prog rock band from Oakland. The band is 10 years old and I didn't hear about them until last year. They're playing two bay area shows soon, Oakland on January 27 and San Francisco on February 18.
Howls of Ebb - Cursus Impasse The Pandlemic Vows
This avant blackened death band from San Francisco are somewhat of a mystery. They have no social media presence and I can't find too much information about them, their website is pretty sparse. I'd love to see them live but I have no way to track them. I want to find out if it sounds just as chaotic and otherworldy in a live setting.
Support Your Local Music Scene
I focused on the smaller ones because as hard as it is to be a small local band, it's that much harder when you play a musical genre that does not have mainstream appeal. The local shows are very cheap (less than $10) or sometimes even free. Split that up amongst 4 or more bands, with about 4 members, each person that performs that night doesn't even get a dollar from my admission. I doubt they make any money, and in fact they probably lose money with the time, gas, and setup.
I tried to include Bandcamp links where I could in hopes that you'll shoot them a few dollars for their efforts. With Facebook, Twitter, BandsInTown, Spotify, Bandcamp, et al, it's easier than ever to discover new music in your local scene. You should be able to find something out there you like, and if you do, please go out to a show, buy some merch, buy a few drinks at the bar, and if the situation allows it, talk to the band and let them know what they're doing is absolutely worth it.