Top 2003 Contenders - What have you got thus far?

[JayKeeley]

Dave Suzuki is sick!!!!!!!!!!

I may well have Dave Suzuki lined up for my all-star line up...Tony Lazaro may lay down the song structures, but it is Suzuki's neoclassical presence that makes it all sound so fucking 'biblical'. Does that make sense? I mean, it's not often that I hear neo-classics in death metal, if at all.

The title track is one of their best songs. Right up there with Dawn Of the Apocalypse.

NAD - Papa is right. "Dechristianize" at the 2:20m mark gives me a friggin' hard on. The way Suzuki starts sweeping those appregios and then lets it kick in to that slow quarter time driving riff...and then the whole thing reprises at around the 6:20m mark again.

Also, off the top of my head, the last track, "Entwined by Vengeance" has that classical acoustic guitar come in...moments like those made the overall album very epic to me.

 

[NAD]

It's getting better... I think the reason I'm not immediately receptive to it is because it wasn't what I was expecting. Honestly it has a real Cradle of Filth type vibe (drawn out songs and constant vocals), and I was expecting a 25 minute blastfest a la Vader.

 

[JayKeeley]

It's getting better... I was expecting a 25 minute blastfest a la Vader.

Heh, I think the average song length is about 8 minutes!

 

[Papa Josh]

Heh, I think the average song length is about 8 minutes!

That goes for most of their material!!

 

[NAD]

Revised again because I am freaking BORED.

1. King Crimson - Power to Believe
2. A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
3. Antimatter - Lights Out
4. Omnium Gatherum - Spirits and August Light
5. Manes - Vilosophe
6. Vital Remains - Dechristianize (obviously this one has grown on me!)
7. Tomahawk - Mit Gas
8. Aborted - Goremageddon
9. Nuclear Rabbit - Mutopia
10. Morbid Angel - Heretic

Amazing that some great albums probably won't make the top 10 this year, like Ephel Duath, Solefald, Leng Tch'e, Opeth, Marilyn Manson, Arch Enemy, Dead Soul Tribe, Type O Negative, etc.

 

[ScottG]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]Here's my list so far..[/font]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]Edge of Sanity - Crimson II
Morbid Angel - Heretic
Zyklon - Aeon
Nightrage - Sweet Vengeance
Strapping Young Lad - s/t
Evergrey - Recreation Day
Labyrinth - s/t
Green Carnation - A Blessing In Disguise
Nightingale - Alive Again
At Vance - The Evil In You
Iron Maiden - Dance of Death[/font]

I fully expect the album in my avatar to jump right past all these albums if it is released this year. I won't mention them but there are a few albums I bought this year not in that list that are pretty disappointing. Either I'm impatient or it's been a rather weak year overall I must say.

 

[JayKeeley]

[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]
Nightrage - Sweet Vengeance
Labyrinth - s/t
At Vance - The Evil In You

Really?

[/font]
I fully expect the album in my avatar to jump right past all these albums if it is released this year.

Here's hoping. The one song I've heard from it is already better than anything on Dead or Dreaming. I don't think it's due out until 2004 though....but I could be wrong.

 

[JayKeeley]

Say my name, Mr Bump.

This thread makes for good browsing. Funny how opinions change so quickly, so it's worth a read.

Of late, I've really been getting into Naglaf's Sheol. I urge all of those hailing Vital Remains to check this album out too - you might be nicely surprised, and for more details, check out Erik's review.

 

[bloodfiredeath]

From the moment I heard it, it was only a matter of what would be the other 9 in my top ten list for 2003. Maniaxe by Ghoul is easily my album of the year and that won't change in six weeks. Figuring out the rest will be interesting though. Like I've said before, I think this was a great year and there are easily 20-25 very good albums vying for the top 10.

 

[J.]

I posted this in a similar thread:

In no order...

Best of 2003 so far:

Negura Bunget - n' crugu bradului
Poison the Well - You Come Before You
Manes - Vilosophe
Watchmaker - Kill.Fucking.Everyone.
Rune - The End of Nothing
Aborym - With No Human Intervention
Geasa - Fate's Lost Son
Nasum - Helvete

Disappointments of 2003:

Zyklon - Aeon
Golden Dawn - Masquerade
The Haunted - One Kill Wonder
Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja

I've yet to hear 2003 releases from Neurosis, Old Man Gloom, Akercocke, Falkenbach, Melechesh, Wolverine and Mistress.

 

[JayKeeley]

I'm going with these so far:

Negura Bunget - 'N Crugu Bradului
Iron Maiden - Dance of Death
Skepticim - Farmakon
Naglfar - Sheol
King Diamond - The Puppet Master
Vital Remains - Dechristianize
Nevermore - Enemies of Reality
Falkenbach - Ok Nefna Tysvar
Manes - Vilosophe

Nothing is set though - there are others hovering about, stuff I've yet to hear, stuff we've yet to review. I've got a bunch of new promos in that sound very promising.

Two EP's have really impressed me this year: Ulver's "Quick Fix" and Vader's "Blood" - which has some of the best DM I've heard in a while, now with Novy on bass.

 

[Erik]

Bleh... There's never enough good shit (that I hear at least) in a year to fill an entire top 10 list... I know Skepticism "Farmakon" and Negurã Bunget will be up there... There's lot of shit I need to hear like the new Holmgang, the new Falkenbach, the new Forgotten Tomb and the new Nokturnal Mortum, etc etc... Too little time and money.

 

[NAD]

Praise be to the bump gods!

1. King Crimson - Power to Believe
2. A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
3. Negura Bunget - 'N Crugu Bradului
4. Antimatter - Lights Out
5. Manes - Vilosophe
6. Tomahawk - Mit Gas
7. Morbid Angel - Heretic
8. Vital Remains - Dechristianize
9. Aborted - Goremageddon
10. Nuclear Rabbit - Mutopia

I'm going to have several honorable metions, but something tells me the majority of this top 10 will probably hold the rest of the year. Nightrage would have made my top 10 in 1997, maybe.

Ali, you need more Ulver if you like Quick Fix. Perdition City! Post haste!

 

[JayKeeley]

There's lot of shit I need to hear like the new Holmgang, the new Falkenbach, the new Forgotten Tomb and the new Nokturnal Mortum, etc etc...

Yes yes, the new Nokturnal Mortum is a must-have. Otherwise, I'm not sure how you grade a top 10 list. In other words, if each of the entires have to be 10/10 type scorings, then yes, it will be impossible, but that's why I *probably* wouldn't hesitate to include something like Sheol in my list.

Too little time and money.

You're always buying CDs aren't you!? I guess they're mostly pre-2003 releases though perhaps...?

 

[Black Winter Day]

mine (as of mid-november)

1) Devin Townsend - Accelerated Evolution
2) Naglfar - Sheol
3) Amorphis - Far From the Sun
4) Negura Bunget - 'N Crudu Bradului
5) Enslaved - Below the Lights
6) Green Carnation - A Blessing In Disguise
7) Nevermore - Enemies of Reality
8) Type O Negative - Life Is Killing Me
9) Rune - The End of Nothing
10) Nightingale - Alive Again

 

[Erik]

You're always buying CDs aren't you!? I guess they're mostly pre-2003 releases though perhaps...?

Yes... The past is much more interesting than the present to me.

 

[ChiefB]

This is my selection (in no order) for 2003

1. Nightfall - I am Jesus
2. Amon Amarth - Versus the World
3. Evergrey - Recreation Day
4. Iron Maiden - Dance of Death
5. Watch Them Die - Watch Them Die
6. Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion
7. Star One - Live on Earth
8. Lacuna Coil - Comalies
9. Cradle of Filth - Damnation and a Day
10. The Darkness - Permission to Land

This could all change.

 

[Dev]

Ephel Duath - The Painter's Palette
Blut Aus Nord - The Work Which Transforms God
Elend - Winds Devouring Men
Solefald - In Harmonia Universali
Enslaved - Below The Lights
The Gathering - Souvenirs
Septic Flesh - Sumerian Daemons
Ulver - A Quick Fix Of Melancholy EP
Opeth - Damnation
Free Slot

 

[JayKeeley]

2. Amon Amarth - Versus the World

Technically, that's a 2002 release depending on how you look at release dates.

 

[Nightmarez]

So right now in no particular order:

Rune - The End of Nothing
Watchmaker - Kill.Fucking.Everyone.
Negura Bunget - 'N Crudu Bradului
Khanate - Things Viral
Ion Dissonance - Breathing Is Irrelevant
Ween - Quebec (Probably won't stay up here long, but you never know)
Manes - Vilosophe
The Dismemberment Plan - A People's History of The Dismemberment Plan (Heyyyy, it made me nostalgic! )
Vital Remains - Dechristianize
Nevermore - Enemies of Reality

I have yet to hear the new Falkenbach, which will most likely bump Ween clear off the list.