GMD Poll: Top Ten Albums of 2005

It's not uneven internally, it's just mixed lower than others, so when a song from it comes up on a playlist or something I always have to click the volume up a bunch. It's annoying. If you're just listening to that album, then it's fine--but I like to make my own playlists of an artist's or band's material, so it presents something of a nuisance in that case. If I'm remembering correctly, Redemption at the Puritan's Hand is also a bit quieter than Storm.

When it comes right down to it though, To the Nameless Dead takes the fucking cake. That album has their best song ("As Rome Burns," in my opinion, as well as other gems), and it sounds incredible. Blows the speakers like a warrior.
 
=4) Atavism by Slough Feg
As the night sky tells a tale of doom...

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"Atavism does lack something of the epic/classic feel of the first four albums. Seems like a decision to ... i don't wanna say 'streamline', but focus the songwriting in a different way than existed on the earlier albums. It's still a very good album, but I don't think it has the everlasting (to me) appeal that the other four, especially Twilight and Traveller, have." - @Demilich

"The Lord Weird Sloughfeg Rule!! All there albums are great apart from Atavism,that one was a bit of a disapointment." - @JontRevolting

"I'm surprised to see you guys pick Atavism as among your favourites. Whilst by no means a bad album, I think it's clearly outshined by everything else they've put done." - @Rumpole

"I was underwhelmed when I first heard it, but Atavism might be my second favorite. It captures the creative spirit of their first album more than anything else. " - @Jean-Pierre

"After listening to all slough feg albums, I still maintain atavism is their best" - @J.

"I prefer the first three, but Atavism is definitely overlooked. I think the reason is that the catchy stuff is ultra-happy-upbeat-cannot-forget stuff (Hiberno-Latin Invasion, Agony Slalom) while many of the others are one big stream of thematic Slough Feg parts, which work incredibly well together. It's one of those albums that sounds much better than how I remember it every time, and I've always still liked it." - @HamburgerBoy

"It really seems as if I'm the only fucker that loves Atavism." - @CASSETTEISGOD

"Traveller and Hardworlder, their two best albums, shit all over Atavism." - @TechnicalBarbarity

Chosen by:
CASSETTEISGOD (#2)
Master_Yoda77 (#3)
Slayed Necros (#4)
HamburgerBoy (#6)
Dazed and Brutal (#6)
Mort Divine (#6)
Anom@nder Rake (#7)
Krow (#7)
RedinTheSky (#=7)
Serjeant Grumbles (#8)
Vegard Pompey (#9)
Draehl (#9)

TOTAL POINTS: 58

=4) II: Crush The Insects by Reverend Bizarre
We hold the iron cross above the Goat of Mendes...

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"I love finding my Crush the Insects album *plays The Devil Rides Out on repeat*

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin the Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidst of the Wooooooooooohooohoooods.....
" - @Carcassian

"If you don't like slow, listen to their album 'Crush the Insects'. It's more rockish and a lot of fun. The only song which can get tedious on it is Fucking Wizard." - @Susperia

"'Crush the Insects' rules even though it is Reverend Bizarres worst album." - @Vilden

"Crush the insects rocks like a motherfucker." - @Krow

"Definitely digging Crush the Insects WAY more than the other one so far, I was starting to think they were a shitty band." - @Carpe Mortem

"Not their best album (still awesome), but their most accessible album by a lot and one of the more fun and easy to enjoy true doom albums." - @Omni

Chosen by:
CASSETTEISGOD (#1)
Krow (#1)
Master_Yoda77 (#2)
EspaDa (#3)
Dazed and Brutal (#3)
Mort Divine (#5)
Vilden (#6)
EternalMetal (#9)

TOTAL POINTS: 58
 
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When it comes right down to it though, To the Nameless Dead takes the fucking cake.

Definitely do not get the love this album gets. It's probably their worst album imo. Something about it just comes off too 'anthemic' which isn't something I've ever gotten from them prior to that album. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination and if any other band released it I'd probably love it, but as a Primordial album it doesn't do it for me.
 
Definitely do not get the love this album gets. It's probably their worst album imo. Something about it just comes off too 'anthemic' which isn't something I've ever gotten from them prior to that album. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination and if any other band released it I'd probably love it, but as a Primordial album it doesn't do it for me.

I get that. It is very anthemic. I remember you saying that Spirit was always your favorite (or one of your favorites), and that one was never high on my list. The first album I ever heard by them was Gathering, and I feel like Storm and Nameless just built on that aesthetic.
 
it's Nem's most vocally theatric album up to that point and least-black metally. Not surprised it's their most well received.
 
3) The Scream That Tore the Sky by Stargazer
Exchanging solemn bows to the fiery hearted goblins...

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"i don't understand how they can be so diverse without sounding like pure wank. very few bands could pull this kind of sound off and not sound ridiculous. very immersive and and impressive album. " - @Perdition's Light

"I can't get it out of my cd-player. Good shit." - @swizzlenuts

"Technical death metal with some avant-garde touches. There is a definite jazzy influence in their sound as well - somewhat reminiscent of Atheist, but a little more melodic." - @byrne

"I love The Scream that Tore the Sky, I just gave it a full listen on the way home yesterday. For some reason it fit in well during the long, dreary ride through Maryland" - @Blinded By Blood

"I wish there were more modern DM post-00's albums with the longevity and inventiveness of Elvenefris, Conjuration of the Spectral Empire and The Scream that Tore the Sky." - @DarkBliss

"Another great band for bass work is Stargazer. The Scream That Tore The Sky is absolutely fantastic bass wise." - @Mort Divine

"Definitely more coherent and compositionally aware than your average prog/tech death (I know this isn't a straight up tech death album), but perhaps still a bit too schizophrenic for my current tastes." - @Phylactery

"Pretty good, nothing special when one could just listen to Coroner instead." - @HamburgerBoy

Chosen by:
Anom@nder Rake (#2)
Mort Divine (#2)
Talos of Atmora (#3)
RedinTheSky (#3)
Atomic Tide (#5)
Vegard Pompey (#5)
EternalMetal (#6)
Bobzilla7954 (#6)
Vilden (#7)
CASSETTEISGOD (#7)
TechnicalBarbarity (#7)
Dazed and Brutal (#9)
tagradh (N/A)

TOTAL POINTS: 75.5
 
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2) Annihilation of the Wicked by Nile
Your doom hath been decreed by Ra...

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"The talent and vision have always been there (see "To Dream of Ur"), but the band long held themselves back by being too wedded to their schtick and too solicitous of the expectations of brutal death metal fans. The soundtrack elements have been toned down to serve the music, rather than than serving as a distraction, and of the 10 tracks, only "Cast Down the Heretic," "Sacrifice Unto Sebek" and the sixth track (which has some ridiculously long title I'm not going to bother writing out) fall into that generic Incantation meets Morbid Angel meets Suffocation pit that ensnared so much of their past offerings. The rest of the material is complex, epic, innovative and, for the first time, consistently coherent. "User-Maat-Re" alone is worth the price of admission, and ranks among the better extreme metal pieces ever written." - @Mornelithe Falconsbane

"AOTW has 'lashed to the slave stick' and is therefore best nile album by default" - @no country for old wainds

"That album is boring as shit." - @The Ozzman

"I actually think Nile got better with each album, up until Annihilation of the Wicked, with which they peaked." - @Life Sucks

"I'd say that Annihilation Of The Wicked is probably their best. Great songs and atmosphere." - @Master_Yoda77

"It's their best imo. Memorable riffs, great solos, cool lyrics..." - @Bitencourt29

"Don't waste your time. I had been hearing all the praise this band got a while back and apparently Annihilation was great so I bought it...and sold it 6 months later after trying many times to get into it. There was nothing I enjoyed about this. The drum performance might be flawless to some but to me it's just some monotonous mechanical drumming. Sure they all have technical skills but it doesn't even come close to have interesting results." - @Ben_t


Chosen by:

Bobzilla7954 (#1)
Krow (#2)
Talos of Atmora (#2)
-CyanideChrist- (#2)
CASSETTEISGOD (#4)
TechnicalBarbarity (#4)
The Ozzman (#4)
Atomic Tide (#4)
-CyanideChrist- (#7)
RedinTheSky (#=7)
Serjeant Grumbles (#7)
Draehl (#7)
Sirjack (#9)

crimsonfloyd (#9)
TOTAL POINTS: 85

1)
Those Once Loyal by Bolt Thrower
Caught within the mainframe killchain...

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"Those Once Loyal is a really good cd. BT consitantly played Death Metal and progressed their music without giving into trends and have a fan base. I can't stand most modern rock and pop music. Indie rock is terrible. I'm not a hippie either." - @CF87

"I think their quality goes in order of release. I've already said I think they're the most consistent Death Metal band, so it's not as if I'm saying Those Once Loyal is shit." - @CASSETTEISGOD

"Those Once Loyal is great. I like how the band refuses to release another album until they personally feel like they've topped that album. More bands should take up that attitude." - @Manic Ferocity

"I recall having claimed that Those Once Loyal didn't have a single filler. I think I was right." - @EspaDa

"Always been a Warmaster + Realm of Chaos guy. But Those Once Loyal is really solid. Legendary band." - @rms

"Those Once Loyal is a raging mid-tempo behemoth. The Killchain ftw" - @Mentok

Chosen by:
EspaDa (#1)
The Ozzman (#1)
Atomic Tide (#1)
Sirjack (#1)
TechnicalBarbarity (#1)
-CyanideChrist- (#1)
Dak (#1)
zerostatic (#2)
Dazed and Brutal (#2)
Slammed (#2)
CASSETTEISGOD (#3)
EternalMetal (#5)
Krow (#5)
crimsonfloyd (#6)
Talos of Atmora (#6)
RedinTheSky (#=7)
Slayed Necros (#8)
Master_Yoda77 (#10)

TOTAL POINTS: 135
 
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2) Annihilation of the Wicked by Nile
Your doom hath been decreed by Ra...

cover-nile04.jpg



"The talent and vision have always been there (see "To Dream of Ur"), but the band long held themselves back by being too wedded to their schtick and too solicitous of the expectations of brutal death metal fans. The soundtrack elements have been toned down to serve the music, rather than than serving as a distraction, and of the 10 tracks, only "Cast Down the Heretic," "Sacrifice Unto Sebek" and the sixth track (which has some ridiculously long title I'm not going to bother writing out) fall into that generic Incantation meets Morbid Angel meets Suffocation pit that ensnared so much of their past offerings. The rest of the material is complex, epic, innovative and, for the first time, consistently coherent. "User-Maat-Re" alone is worth the price of admission, and ranks among the better extreme metal pieces ever written." - @Mornelithe Falconsbane

"AOTW has 'lashed to the slave stick' and is therefore best nile album by default" - @no country for old wainds

"That album is boring as shit." - @The Ozzman

"I actually think Nile got better with each album, up until Annihilation of the Wicked, with which they peaked." - @Life Sucks

"I'd say that Annihilation Of The Wicked is probably their best. Great songs and atmosphere." - @Master_Yoda77

"It's their best imo. Memorable riffs, great solos, cool lyrics..." - @Bitencourt29

"Don't waste your time. I had been hearing all the praise this band got a while back and apparently Annihilation was great so I bought it...and sold it 6 months later after trying many times to get into it. There was nothing I enjoyed about this. The drum performance might be flawless to some but to me it's just some monotonous mechanical drumming. Sure they all have technical skills but it doesn't even come close to have interesting results." - @Ben_t


Chosen by:

Bobzilla7954 (#1)
Krow (#2)
Talos of Atmora (#2)
-CyanideChrist- (#2)
CASSETTEISGOD (#4)
TechnicalBarbarity (#4)
The Ozzman (#4)
Atomic Tide (#4)
-CyanideChrist- (#7)
RedinTheSky (#=7)
Draehl (#7)
Sirjack (#9)

crimsonfloyd (#9)
TOTAL POINTS: 81

I voted for this.
.