The Annual Best of the Year Thread - 2013

[Kenneth R.]

GO.

 

[LavagesOfTime]

Spock's Beard - Brief Nocturnes and Dreamless Sleep
Imperial State Electric - Reptile Brain Music

 

[Liquid Tension]

There are still a few on the way that I hope are worthy of a top list...

Bird and buildings - Multipurpose Trap
Leprous - Coal
Thought Chamber - Psykerion
Progenesi - Ulisse : L'Alfiere Nero
Chrome Hoof - Chrome Black Gold
Mirthkon - Snacks
Caillou - S/T
Unit Wail - Retort
Anciients - Heart of Oak
Grand General - S/T
Keep It Deep - Hatching
OMB - SwineSong
The Ocean - Pelagial

The Dog award this year goes to - Ihsahn - Das Seelenbrechen

 

[Phanto]

Best Prog Metal:
Haken - The Mountain
runner up: Fates Warning - Darkness In A Different Light

Best Live:
Anathema - Universal
runner up: Angra - Angel's Cry (just avoid the female vox tracks)

Best Heavy Metal:
Ghost - Infestissumam

Best Instrumental:
Scale the Summit - The Migration
runner-up: Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - The Plant With Many Faces

Best New Prog (is this what they call neo-prog?):
Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing
runner-up: Ingranaggi Della Valle - In Hoc Signo

Best Feelgood/Relax/Chillax:
Julianna Barwick - Nepenthe

Album Of The Year:
Vallendusk - Black Clouds Gathering

My 2013 Top 3 Plays (according to last.fm):
Top Tracks
Haken - The Path
Haken - Atlas Stone
Vallendusk - Fragments of Light

 

[donKyle]

Off the top of my head:

The Ocean: Pelagial
Persefone: Spiritual Migration (my pick for album of the year)
Vallendusk: Black Clouds Gathering
Dark Tranquillity: Construct

Disappointments:

Amon Amarth: Deceiver of the Gods
Omnium Gatherum: Beyond (there are a few stand out tracks, but the rest just doesn't stand up)

 

[intergalactic]

haken and Epysode's "fantasmagoria" on top of my list

 

[Kenneth R.]

atm, Anathema - Universal & Dark Tranquillity - Construct. 3rd place: Leprous - Coal.

Will think of more later.

 

[JesterIF]

The Ocean - Pelagial

A few great albums this year, most of which are already named here but nothing comes close to Pelagial in my book. It's a masterpiece.

 

[Durakonis]

Amorphis - Circle

 

[Phanto]

I should probably listen some more to Dark Tranquality's 2013 release...

Tribulation - The Formulas Of Death could be a fantastic album, but I'm having such a hard time to get into it. I'm suspecting that if I finally do get into it, it's gonna be very good. I've heard some fantastic things on it.

 

[symphonyXjapan]

These are my favorites in no particular order.

Dark Tranquillity - Construct
Orphaned Land - All is One
Ayreon - The Theory of Everything (sorry, even with the cheesy lyrics the music and vocal performances are just spectacular)
Persefone - Spiritual Migration
Keldian - Outbound

honorable mentions:

Suidakra - Eternal Defiance
Stratovarius - Nemesis
Amorphis - Circle

 

[Postulate]

Comedy of Errors - Fanfare & Fantasy
Fates Warning - Darkness in a Different Light

Best New Prog (is this what they call neo-prog?):

Nah, if you want an example of modern neo-prog, listen to
Galahad - Beyond the Realms of Euphoria
IQ - Frequency
Pendragon - Passion

 

[LavagesOfTime]

none of you lists Spock's Beard, what a shame

 

[Krondor]

Best Prog Metal:
Haken - The Mountain
runner up: Fates Warning - Darkness In A Different Light

Best Live:
Anathema - Universal
runner up: Angra - Angel's Cry (just avoid the female vox tracks)

Best Heavy Metal:
Ghost - Infestissumam

Best Instrumental:
Scale the Summit - The Migration
runner-up: Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement - The Plant With Many Faces

Best New Prog (is this what they call neo-prog?):
Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing
runner-up: Ingranaggi Della Valle - In Hoc Signo

Best Feelgood/Relax/Chillax:
Julianna Barwick - Nepenthe

Album Of The Year:
Vallendusk - Black Clouds Gathering

My 2013 Top 3 Plays (according to last.fm):
Top Tracks
Haken - The Path
Haken - Atlas Stone
Vallendusk - Fragments of Light

I gotta check some of these out. I totally fell in love with Vallendusk - Fragments of Light... <3

 

[Kenneth R.]

none of you lists Spock's Beard, what a shame

It just wasn't that good. They've been pretty hit and miss for years, actually. Some great songs, some horrid songs, every album. Keyboard solos for minutes at a time = not good.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

It just wasn't that good. They've been pretty hit and miss for years, actually. Some great songs, some horrid songs, every album. Keyboard solos for minutes at a time = not good.

I like V, and I love Snow. The new album didn't grab me either.

Riverside - Shrine
Leprous - Coal

There are many albums I haven't been able to check out yet, but those two stand out for me.

Very excited to hear Anathema, Magenta, and Haken.

Worst news of the year:
Wilson ending Porcupine Tree.

Best news of the year:
Frost* is back for a 3rd time.

 

[LittleTortillaBoy]

TesseracT - Altered State
Leprous - Coal
The Ocean - Pelagial
Orphaned Land - All Is One
Black Sabbath - 13
Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused To Sing
Ayreon - The Theory Of Everything
Kayo Dot - Hubardo
The Dillinger Escape Plan - One Of Us Is The Killer

 

[LavagesOfTime]

Ghost - Infestissumam

Gave it a brief listening but it was enough to make it worth my list :Spin:

 

[LavagesOfTime]

It just wasn't that good. They've been pretty hit and miss for years, actually. Some great songs, some horrid songs, every album. Keyboard solos for minutes at a time = not good.

I think the only Feel Euphoria was "some great songs, some horrid songs", the rest is mainly great songs :Shedevil:

 

[Phanto]

I gotta check some of these out. I totally fell in love with Vallendusk - Fragments of Light... <3