List Time?

[Southy]

Is it time to knock up a list of X number of albums that rocked your boat this year? I thinks so...

 

[FerretallicA]

This is the first year in a long time where I'll need to put a lot of thought into cutting back to a top 10 list instead of struggling to find anything exceptional worth mentioning. The highlights for me so far this year:

Animals As Leaders - Weightless
Sun Caged - The Lotus Effect
Iced Earth - Dystopia
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
Jelonek - Revenge
Omnium Gatherum - New World Shadows
Saber Tiger - Decisive
Protest The Hero - Scurrilous
Edguy - Age of the Joker
Andromeda - Manifest Tyranny
Stephan Forte - Shadows Compendium
Iron Savior - The Landing
Steel Panther - Balls Out
Brett Garsed - Dark Matter
Caligula's Horse - Moments From Ephemeral City
Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance
The Aristocrats - S/T
Chickenfoot - III

Cynic was the big let-down for me. I expected big things from the preview song but the final EP was very underwhelming. Maybe I just expect too much from them... Opeth and Devin Townsend were both listenable but also disappointing.

Worst 3 albums of 2011 is easy:

1. Lou Reed & Metallica - Lulu
2. Morbid Angel - I'll Dive In A Man's Anus
3. Pain of Salvation - Road Salt Part 2

[edit] Forgot to mention...
Highlights:
Symphony X - Iconoclast
Voyager - The Meaning of I
Lindsay Buckingham - Songs from the Small Machine
Sylvan - Sceneries
Anticlimaxes:
Black Country Communion - 2
The Bangles - Sweetheart Of The Sun

and I listened to Devin Townsend "Deconstruction" again last night. What the fuck was I thinking last time... definitely not a disappointment.
[/edit]

 

[Celestial-Todd]

Iced Earth - Dystopia
Steel Panther - Balls Out

These plus

Symphony X - Iconoclast

 

[Bucko]

‎1. Night Ranger -Somewhere in California
2. Black N Blue – Hell Yeah
3. Michael Monroe - Sensory Overdrive
4. Mortal Sin - Psychology Of Death
5. Chickenfoot-_III
6. Whitesnake –Forevermore
7. Voyager- Meaning of I
8. Black Country Communion – 2
9. The Eternal -Under A New Sun
10. Yes - Fly from Here
11. Saxon – Call to Arms
12. Journey - Eclipse
13. Iced Earth -Dystopia
14. Symphony X - Iconoclast
15.Steel Panther- Balls Out
16.Edguy - Age of the Joker.
17.Y & T - Facemelter
18.Darker Half-DESENSITIZED
19.Heaven the Axe-Sex Cugs & Rock N Roll
20.Electrik Dynamie - Hair . Denim. Sex. Metal
Disappointments Megadeths 13 and Dream Threater's -A Dramatic Turn of Events

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Mastodon - The Hunter

Am yet to pick up Dystopia.

 

[Spruce Goose]

Was A Dramatic Turn of Events a miss with the Maiden Downunder board??

Did anyone else listen to the new Mr Big album What If from the start of the year?
That was killer

 

[Southy]

I still haven't heard A Dramatic Turn...

I like these sorts of things because they remind me of albums I bought during the year that I have already forgotten.

I would have to put Machine Head's Unto the Locust at the top though, such a good album
Caligula's Horse - Moments... has to be there too it is a world class piece of local work.

Arch Enemy - Khaos Legions let me down this year, guess I just expect too much??, but on the opposite side of that coin is The Haunted's Unseen album, I didn't know what to expect, but that album really surprised me in a great way.
Decapitated - Carnival is Forever another album that is quite good too.

there is a stack of albums sitting in that shelf over there <---- so if i go look i'll get back to you about others that have impressed me

 

[Spruce Goose]

Yep... Caligula's Horse is very close to my album of the year.....
Actually fuck it.... I think it is!

 

[FerretallicA]

It's definitely in the mix for me. It's the kind of thing I would have expected Pain of Salvation to have produced instead of Road Salt if they hadn't turned completely gay.

 

[Goreripper]

There was quite a lot of stuff I really enjoyed this year:

Mastodon - The Hunter
Machine Head - Unto the Locust
Ghost - Opus Eponymous
FLOATINGME - FLOATINGME
Jeff Martin 777 - The Ground Cries Out
Ouroboros - Glorification of a Myth
Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction
Nightwish - Imaginaerum
Iced Earth - Dystopia
Anthrax - Worship Music
Serious Beak - Huxwhukw
The Haunted - Unseen
Arch Enemy - Khaos Legions
Foo Fighters - Wasting Light
DevilDriver - Beast
Ringworm - Scars
Northlane - Discoveries
Mortal Sin - Psychology of Death

Disappointments:
Morbid Angel - Illud Divinum Insanus
My Dying Bride - Evinta

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Worship Music is awesome. Haven't got the new Jeff Martin yet. I thought Ghost's album was 2010.

 

[Shadow298]

I thought Ghost's album was 2010.

There is some confusion on that because the release date says 2010 but all the reviews say it came out this year.

 

[KoichCPA]

OFWGKTA- 12 Odd Future Songs
Mastodon - The Hunter
Jeff Martin 777 - The Ground Cries Out
The Haunted - Unseen
Skrillex - More Monsters and Sprites
Kasabian- Velociraptor
The Drums- Portamento
Future of the Left- Polymers are Forever

and album of the year

King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard- Willoughby's Beach

 

[Goreripper]

Ghost's album was released in 2010 in Europe, 2011 everywhere else.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I guess that makes sense then!

They were certainly awesome live anyway. Hope to see them again sometime with the songs being more familiar.

 

[KoichCPA]

Oh

And Battles- Gloss Drop

 

[Southy]

Finally listened to the new Dream Theater, and have been pleasenly surprised, again I didn't really know what to expect, I was hoping they wouldn't try another FII or something, and they haven't which is ace

 

[FerretallicA]

One last late addition for me:

Wishbone Ash - "Elegant Stealth"

It still doesn't capture the magic of "Here To Hear" but it's easily the best thing they've done in ages.

All up, I'd say 2011 was a damn fine year for new music.

 

[Goreripper]

Agreed. A couple of people I deal with said exactly the opposite and I was left thoroughly aghast.

 

[KoichCPA]

I also liked the Redcoats ep a lot.

Redcoats are awesome.