Best of 2014

[Snyde]

It's that time of year again.

I personally have listened to a metric shitton of albums this year but very few of them were super duper totes amazeballs. A lot of them were good, yeah, but not game-changing or anything.

Top 10 albums:
1 - Hail Spirit Noir - Oi Magoi
No doubt the album I've listened to the most this year. Creative, fun and addictive, it's my album of the year with absolutely no contest.

2 - Mick Gordon - Killer Instinct Season One Soundtrack
It's not cheating, I hope, to put a video game soundtrack on the list. It makes me want to kick some Ultratech ass and I haven't even played the damn game!

3 - Gazpacho - Demon
Super chill prog rock full of nuances and a great concept. Also the subject of many a listen ever since it came out.

4 - Triptykon - Melana Chasmata
Goddamn this album is fucking intense. Recommended listen when you want the world to fuck off.

5 - Panopticon - Roads to the North
Discombobulating black metal with ambient and somehow violins and what the heck is this, but it's so beautiful.

6 - Morbus Chron - Sweven
7 - Spectral Lore - III
8 - Artificial Brain - Labyrinth Constellation
9 - Falls of Rauros - Believe in No Coming Shore
10 - Beyond Creation - Earthborn Evolution



Honorable Mentions:
Voices - London
Misery Index - The Killing Gods
Revocation - Deathless
Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Behemoth - The Satanist
Mors Principium Est - Dawn of the 5th Era
Casualties of Cool - Casualties of Cool
The Algorithm - Octopus4
Horrendous - Ecdysis
Blut aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry

Favorite songs (in no particular order):
Agalloch - Birth and Death of the Pillars of Creation
Hail Spirit Noir - Satan is Time
Black Crown Initiate - Great Mistake
Behemoth - O Father O Satan O Sun!
Allegaeon - Through Ages of Ice - Otzi's Curse
Alcest - Délivrance
Xanthochroid - Land of Snow and Sorrow (Wintersun cover)
Voices - The Antidote
Insomnium - The River
Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
Manimalism - Demons in Tuxedos
Kriegsmaschine - To Ashen Havens

 

[I-TEND-TO-DIE]

Suicidal Angels - Divide and Conquer
Loudblast - Burial Ground
Tryptikon - Melana Chasmata
Entombed - Back To The Front (awesome artwork too..)
Vader - Tibi Et Igni
....

expecting also a new Coroner album.. (Status: Still Waiting) maybe 2016?

cannot remember all albums. But it was a very good year of releases.

 

[Keenan]

I'm going to try leave out all the albums Buckethead made this year, because if I added them, this TOP 10 would be a TOP 100.


10 : Animals as Leaders - The Joy of Motion
9 : Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails
8 : SERDCE - Timelessness
7 : At the Gates - At War With Reality
6 : Mastodon - Once More 'Round the Sun
5 : Iced Earth - Plagues of Babylon
4 : Beyond Creation - Earthborn Evolution
3 : Cynic - Kindly Bent to Free Us
2 : Insomnium - Shadows of the Dying Sun
1 : Devin Townsend Project Z2

Special Mentions (No particular order) :

Casualties of Cool - s/t
Buckethead : Pikes 51, 53, 58, 65, 66, 72 (Had to put them somewhere )
Gazpacho - Demon
Cosmograf - Capacitor
The Last of Us Vol. 2
inFAMOUS : Second Son Soundtrack
Dark Souls II Soundtrack

 

[D.Ingram]

*sigh*

http://brutalism.com/content/dingrams-2014-summary

 

[Hetzer]

Evergrey - Hymns for the broken
Mastodon - Once more 'round the sun
Xerath - III
Alestorm - Sunset on the golden age

All these are my first encounter with these bands, and as result also acquired few older records from their discography (mainly Mastodon and Evergrey).

Special mention goes to Devin Townsend Project Z2 to be biggest dissapointment of the year.

Bubbling under is Epysode with their second album Fantasmagoria (which actually is released 2013).

 

[Snyde]

Special mention goes to Devin Townsend Project Z2 to be biggest dissapointment of the year.

This man knows what's up.

I didn't list disappointments in my first post so here goes. Z2 just is Epicloud 2.0 which is Addicted! 2.0 and they keep getting worse and worse for me. Judas Priest's Redeemer of Souls bored me to death, right along with Plagues of Babylon by Iced Earth. I also thought Sabaton's Heroes sounded waaaay too much like Carolus Rex, even to the point of them repeating melodies from CR in a lot of the songs in Heroes...

 

[zerostatic]

Surprised to see so much hate for Z2. I liked it a lot and the Ziltoid album was funny. I haven't kept up much with Devin's music since the last Ziltoid album though.

1) Vader - Tibi et Igni - I have no Idea what the title means and don't really give a shit either, because the music fucking rocks! I've always been a big fan of their blend of death/thrash and this is another great record. The Best songs are Hexenkessel, Triump of Death, and De Satans Neue Kleider.

2) Overkill - White Devil Armory - This is an album that has gotten better for me with every listen. You have to admire the strong run of albums they have had since releasing Ironbound. The album sounds great, I just wish they would trim a little fat and shorten a few of the songs.

3) Exmortus - Slave to the Sword - With Warbringer and Holy Grail falling dormant this year Exmortus took over the responsibility of spreading southern california thrash metal across the U.S.A. This is a huge step up from their last album. The twin guitar assault fills this album with some incredible solos and great riffs that make you want to drink and bang your head!

4) Belphegor - Conjuring the Dead. I didn't expect much with this album, but after a few listens I have to admit it was kicking my ass! I love the guitar tone on this album Favorite songs are Conjuring the Dead, Lucifer, Take Her!, Legions of Destruction, and In Death.

5) Revocation - Deathless - Nice return to form after the stinker of an album that they released last year. I think they switched labels, so I wonder if they released that turd just to fulfill a contract. The guitar playing is incredible as usual. Lots of great riffs and solos. The best songs are Madness Opus, United in Helotry, and Witch Trials.

6) Alestorm - Sunset on the Golden Age - This is a band that enjoys having fun and doesn't take themselves too seriously, which is nice to see in Metal. They have the obligatory song about booze, simply titled Drink, which is fun, as is the cover of Hangover. Props to these guys for pushing themsevles musically on songs like Magnetic North and 1741.

7) Cannibal Corpse - A Skeletal Domain - At this point you should know what to expect from CC. This is their fourth album cover in a row that is not vomit inducing - it is nice to see a Death Metal band show maturity, haha. Best songs on this album are Funeral Cremation, Asphyxiate to Resuscitate and Kill or Become, which is the best song by CC since Evisceration Plague!

8) Autopsy - Tourniquets, Hacksaws, and Graves. Another band that followed up a turd, (The Headless Ritual), with a much better album! The title track is my favorite on here, followed by After the Cutting. Check these guys out if your into more hard rock/blues influenced Death Metal. Also, these guys win for the most badass album cover of the year. If you haven't seen it, look it up.

9) Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire - I have always liked Godflesh's take on industrial metal. This a good album to listen to on the dark, dreary days of fall and winter. Best songs are Obeyed, Curse us All, and Carrion.

10) Exodus - Blood In, Blood Out - Not quite sure what to make of this yet. Time will tell, but I will say that it is Exodus' best effort since Tempo of the Damned. Like Overkill, this album could use some editing. There is no reason for a thrash band to write songs that last six minutes. The standout song for me is Collateral Damage.

I agree with Snyde that I didn't listen to anything game changing or what might be considered a classic 10 or 20 years from now. My greatest disappointments were the new ones from Hour of Penance and Aborted.

 

[D.Ingram]

Y'all muthafuckas need some Kremated.

 

[ThatOneDude]

Barely listened to anything this year. Only two albums I REALLY liked this year.

Sharpnel - The Virus Conspires
Lich King - Do Over

 

[D.Ingram]

...Wait, you LIKED a Lich King release?

Never heard that one before!

/shotsfired

 

[Hetzer]

I wouldn't go as far as hating Z2, it just doesn't do anything for me. Sure, couple of good songs in both of albums but in whole it's bit meh... It just might be that these sit on shelf few months and then after spin or two, they just open up differently. But I do hope that Dev has finally got past this whole Addicted/Epicloud/Blue skies-Z2 thingie and next one will be pure awesomeness.

 

[ThatOneDude]

...Wait, you LIKED a Lich King release?

Never heard that one before!

/shotsfired

For real though, I do like the band - loved Born of the Bomb when it came out. The Do-Over EP basically fixed what went wrong during the mixing (though I didn't like that Hot For Teacher cover at all, didn't suit it).

I think they'd be more likable if they toned down their behavior a bit. Then again, that's what made them unique I guess...

I wouldn't go as far as hating Z2, it just doesn't do anything for me. Sure, couple of good songs in both of albums but in whole it's bit meh... It just might be that these sit on shelf few months and then after spin or two, they just open up differently. But I do hope that Dev has finally got past this whole Addicted/Epicloud/Blue skies-Z2 thingie and next one will be pure awesomeness.

While I didn't listen to Sky Blue, I thought Dark Matters wasn't bad. The only reason why I didn't appreciate it as much was because I didn't mind the first Ziltoid record as well.

Admittedly, I have to agree with the Addicted/Epicloud/etc. opinion. He's coming out with Casualties releases so I can get my extra fix from Ki, but really I just want another Deconstruction. Unreasonable to ask, given his current mood, but what can ya do.

 

[D.Ingram]

MY BROTHAAAAH! UHHHH SO LAAAAAAAAAME!

I grew on me

 

[Podgie]

I Killed the Prom Queen - Beloved
Carnifex - Die Without Hope
Wolves Like Us - Black Soul Choir
Bury Tomorrow - Runes
Chelsea Grin - Ashes to Ashes
Upon a Burning Body - The World Is My Enemy Now
Texas in July - Bloodwork
Texas Hippie Coalition - Ride On
In This Moment - Black Widow

 

[Snyde]

...and so, Podgie's hipster cred remains intact as he posts a list full of albums nobody has listened to.

Seriously, though, apart from Carnifex, I have no idea what any of those bands are.

 

[ThatOneDude]

...and so, Podgie's hipster cred remains intact as he posts a list full of albums nobody has listened to.

I THINK I recognized I Killed A Prom Queen and Carnifex. Outside of that, jack.

Surprised the none of you mentioned that new Gargoyle album.

 

[Keenan]

I've only heard of In This Moment, and even then, not since like 2007.

And to my shame... I still haven't even listened to the new Gargoyle album! I have it on my laptop and everything...

 

[Podgie]

Listen to it! It's good man.

But yeah, I've actually never heard ANY of those bands. Also just noticed I only listed 9 albums. Double fail.

 

[Snyde]

What the hell? You troll

 

[Hetzer]

Well fuck me sideways, almost ashamed to admit that I forgot Threshold - For the Journey. Well, here it is.