Albums of the Year

Well, the year is almost over and I thought i'd share some of my highlights of the year. There are still a few releases I'm looking forward to, but these are the albums that have been released that I think are contenders for album of the year

Ensiferum - From Afar
This album is just amazing. A lot of people don't like it for God knows why, but I think it's one of their strongest releases. The album has a much more folky sound than previous releases, as it inlcudes many traditional folk instruments as well as brass and woodwinds. It has a much more epic feel because of these additions. "By The Dividing Stream" is the opening track, and it's a 3:50 long acoustic instrumental piece. "Twilight Tavern" is another song that stands out. It's a very high energy song, but still has the folky elements that makes it a true folk-metal mastepiece. This song features Petri with mostly growling style vocals, as well as a section with a group of women singing in a round. "Smoking Ruins" is the next song that stood out, and it is a very dynamic piece. It starts out slowly with an instrumental section that is very beautiful. Then it goes into an epic story reminiscent of "Wanderer". this song features primaily clean vocals, with a section with Petri's death growls. This is by my favorite song off of this album, and possible my favorite song by the group altogether. Directly following "Smoking Ruins" is a short acapella piece which is basically a traditional folk chant. This albums is just fantastic, it has a huge variety in the music and is best listened to as an album, not as individual songs.



Children of Bodom - Skeletons in the Closet
What can I say, this is a sweet cover album. This album features many different styles of music, such as Southern Rock and Disgusting Teen Pop. Their cover of "Lookin' Out My Back Door" is the highlight of the album for me. It is just amazing, and it has an awesome remake of Creedence Clearwater Revival's original video. A cool thing about this song is that it's a metal cover of a Southern Rock song, and they ADDED a banjo solo in that wasn't even in the original song. Very classic, and one of the best covers I've ever heard. Another song that stands out in the album is their cover of King Diamond's "Waiting", which is a hidden track at the end of the album. It's a very cool cover and it actually sounds like classic Bodom. But this album is really good, and is a breath of fresh air for CoB.

So far albums that have been highlights of my year.

Rancid- Let the Dominoes Fall
Blodarv- Civitas Diaboli
Kowloon Walled City- Gambling on the Richter Scale
Behemoth- Evangellion
Hatebreed- For the Lions
Glorior Belli- Meet Us at the Southern Sign

Still waiting to see if new Skeletonwitch will top this list and I need to pick up the new Marduk as well.

The Marduk abum was pretty good. I am currently waiting for the new Skeletonwitch album, the new Wintersun album, and a few others

wait till next month .. the 2nd and ask me ...

ruins of beverast - "Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite"
ameseours - S/T
marduk - "Wormwood"
xasthur - "All Reflections Drained"
sonic youth - "The Eternal"
rancid - "Let the Dominoes Fall"
njiqahdda - "Taegnuub - Ishnji Angma"
graveland - "Spears of Heaven"
striborg - "Percieving the World With Hate"
gorgoroth - "Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt"
glorior belli - "Meet Us at the Southern Sign"
drudkh - "microcosmos"
bob dylan - "Together Through Life"
candlemass - "Death Magic Doom"
blut aus nord - Memoria Vetusta pt 2"


awesome stuff this year

Yeah this has been a rather nice year for black metal. Forgot about the new Blut Aus Nord.

Katharsis - Fourth Reich
My Dying Bride - The Lies I Sire
Xasthur - All Reflections Drained

The Ruins of Beverast
Hospital of Death
Warbringer

f*** it. I only got 2 hours of sleep last night. Can't think,.

So far Breathing the Fire by Skeletonwitch (yes, it has now leaked) and Those Whom the Gods Deteast by Nile are my favourites.

MUATSS by Glorior Belli is also a highlight, along with Fragmentary Evidence by Augury, Microcosmos by Drudkh, Stone's Reach by Be'Lakor, Across the Dark by Insomnium, Feel the Steel by Steel Panther, Cybion by Kalisia of course...

... this has been a great year for metal, there are quite a few albums I haven't mentioned that are worthy of praise.

Conversely, the album I was looking forward to most, All Shall Fall by Immortal, is quite a big dissapointment.

Was it? I haven't even bothered to look into it really.

Cant forget:
Megadeth- Endgame

Vader- Necropolis

Evile- Infected Nations

All worth listening to

Just a few of the best albums this year.

Nazxul - Iconoclast
Xasthur - All Reflections Drained
Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta II
Striborg - Perceiving The World With Hate
The Ruins of Beverast - Foulest Semen....
Paradise Lost - Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us
Bloody Panda - Summon
Anaal Nathrakh - In The Constellation of The Black Widow
SunnO))) - Monoliths and Dimensions
Razor of Occam - Homage To Martyrs

How could I forget Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us and Monoliths and Dimensions?!

It happens to us all lol.

Hmm Bloody Panda. That name just makes me want to listen to that band.

blackstar wrote:

It happens to us all lol.

Hmm Bloody Panda. That name just makes me want to listen to that band.

They're a really cool female fronted experimental sludge doom band from New York, highly recommended listening.

Yeah I'll have to check that out in a bit.

Female fronted sludge = win.

Listening now holy shit this is good :O

Ok so now that Breathing the Fire is out. I can't say it's the best album of the year for me. I think Glorior Belli takes that one. It's in the top 5 though not entirely sure where though. Another interesting album that has eluded being put on this list because it came out so early in the year is XO by Leathermouth not metal but damn good in my opinion got alot of plays from me.

Honestly, the Bodom album really is half assed. Not that great.

I f***ing love it

Kalisia - Cybion
Nachtreich - Sturmgang
Anaal Nathrakh - In The Constellation Of The Black Widow
Altar of Plagues - White Tomb
Nazhand - Life Ruins

Still need to hear a lot of things though.

VacuousReality wrote:

Kalisia - Cybion
Nachtreich - Sturmgang

qft


and id like to add some noteable albums for me

The Great Misdirect - Between the Buried and Me
Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings
The Few Against the Many - SOT

and although i dont like it, it is a major change, so the new Scar Symmetry album - Dark Matter Dimensions

SLAYER - WORLD PAINTED BLOOD ...I have had this album for a week now and its true slayer , The slayer of the late 80s early 90s slayer.. It is the best slayer album in the last 15 years ..

The more I listen to Across the Dark the more I like it. Insomnium have yet to release anything other than pure gold.

My top five are:

Kalisia - Cybion
Augury - Fragmentary Evidence
Insomnium - Across the Dark
Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest
Muse - The Resistance

Its been a great year for death metal, I've really gotten into it again after a bit of a lull period last year. Conversely, I'm a little sick of black metal at the minute, despite several great release as has already been mentioned, hence its absence from my list.

Dies Irae wrote:

Augury - Fragmentary Evidence

that album is decent
you reccomended it aways back, and i rejected it. but i downloaded it.
i like their first album much more. has a slight touch more symphonic feel and an overal more melodic feel. fragmentary evidence is just hard driving death. its good, but the first is better imo

brutality, thynameismetal wrote:

Dies Irae wrote:

Augury - Fragmentary Evidence

that album is decent
you reccomended it aways back, and i rejected it. but i downloaded it.
i like their first album much more. has a slight touch more symphonic feel and an overal more melodic feel. fragmentary evidence is just hard driving death. its good, but the first is better imo

I'm the opposite. Concealed is good, but I like the punch that comes with FE.

Dies Irae wrote:

brutality, thynameismetal wrote:

Dies Irae wrote:

Augury - Fragmentary Evidence

that album is decent
you reccomended it aways back, and i rejected it. but i downloaded it.
i like their first album much more. has a slight touch more symphonic feel and an overal more melodic feel. fragmentary evidence is just hard driving death. its good, but the first is better imo

I'm the opposite. Concealed is good, but I like the punch that comes with FE.

i can see why you may like that. but then again your tastes GREATLY differ from me.
im just glad you helped me discover another new thing

I wanted to say Stone's Reach by Be'Lakor as well, but I think the new muse just tips it for me. Still, to say I'm not a big melodeath fan, I'm liking quite a lot of the stuff that has come out this year.

again, thanks for be-lakor as well. love that album
and i heard that one song from the new muse album at work the other day. i was the only one bobbing my head. so i guess i do like it