So here it is... the list of my top 15 albums of the year, as well as the honorable mentions. For me, this was a great year of music, and trying to keep my list to just 15 was difficult task in and of itself. I included the honorable mentions down below, and each of them are also incredibly noteworthy, but the top 15 are, in my opinion, outstanding pieces of music that deserve the notoriety that I give them. I hope you enjoy, and perhaps find a slice or two of gold out of this list.
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15.) Two Steps From Hell “SkyWorld”
Starting out the list on a strange note, I know. In case you
do not know who or what Two Steps From Hell actually is, I recommend you go to
Youtube and just Google their name. I’ll wait. Odds are, you know exactly who
they are: Two Steps From Hell is a musical project put together by two
composers (Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix) that writes soundtrack music
for film companies and other media outlets. Unless you’ve been living under a
rock for the past 5 years, you’ve definitely heard their music in previews for
just about every big movie out there (The Dark Knight & Star Trek, for
starters), and probably most video games (Mass Effect, etc.) and even some TV
shows (The Walking Dead). They’re everywhere. This is their 5th
publicly-released album, but the first to feature all new music since they’ve
“hit it big,” and it’s a great album. You’re not going to find any great lyrics
or any inspirational vocals on this album, but what you will find are great,
big, epic compositions that, to be honest, I listen to when I’m writing. Yes,
even this right now.
14.) Dead Sara “Dead Sara”
Dead Sara will be one of the biggest bands on the planet
within a few years, just you wait. Now that I got that out of the way, let me
tell you that you should listen to this album, regardless of what type of music
you listen to. This is a rock album, but should undoubtedly appeal to people
who loved grunge, those who love punk, metalheads, or even people who dig pop
songs. Emily Armstrong has a unique voice that is incredibly strong, and she’s
undoubtedly going to become insanely popular once Dead Sara finally get their
due. This album is a gigantic release from a mostly-unknown band, and the song
“Weatherman” is alone worth the purchase price of the album, and songs like
“Monumental Holiday” or “Lemon Scent” can just be bonuses, even though they are
spectacular tracks in their own rights.
13.) Gojira “L’Enfant Sauvage”
From the opening notes of “Explosia,” it is clear that
“L’Enfant Sauvage” is a beast of an album. The title track follows, and makes
that explicitly clear. Gojira have gained a large underground following after
releasing “From Mars To Sirius” and “The Way Of All Flesh” here in America after relocating from their native France , and have
made it clear that they have their sights set on being one of the biggest metal
bands on the planet. “L’Enfant Sauvage” is a somewhat-progressive album, as the
band has always had those influences, but has seemed to take their death metal
roots and somehow transform those into a groove-metal vibe that resides
throughout the entire album nicely. I don’t think this album is as strong as
their previous two releases, as it doesn’t quite have the same staying power,
but that would be like comparing all of da Vinci’s paintings to the “Mona
Lisa.” It’s still a great album, and one of my favorites of the year,
undoubtedly.
12.) Baroness “Yellow & Green”
Up until this point, Baroness haven’t been a band that I
ever quite “got.” I thought their previous album, “Blue Record,” was good, but
I never quite loved it or thought it was “great.” With their new album “Yellow
& Green,” however, I’m thinking the exact opposite: I love it. “Yellow
& Green” is, of course, a double album, with both sides being a far
opposite from where the band has been before. Whereas the band has their roots
in sludge and stoner metal, “Yellow & Green” is a largely mellow affair,
more reminiscent of softer alternative rock, with only minor stoner metal
influences seeping into a few tracks. I think the average music-listener can
easily listen to this album and have no idea that they’re listening to a metal
band. This album easily has more in touch with The Beatles, for example, than
Metallica. I cannot recommend any specific tracks, as the entire album is best
listened to in its entirety for maximum relaxation.
11.) The Empire Shall Fall “Volume One: Solar Plexus”
Metalcore is always a genre I’ve had a sticky relationship
with: it was my original introduction to true “metal,” but for a while, I
became sick of the entire genre and tried to disavow it. However, this year has
greatly improved my love of the genre, and that is due in no small part to The
Empire Shall Fall’s “Volume One: Solar Plexus.” The Empire Shall Fall can best
be described as “progressive metalcore,” somewhat-similar to Between The Buried
And Me, but is fronted by Jesse Leach, one of my own personal favorite
lyricists and vocalists. Leach is well-known for his passionate vocals full of
heart-aching and inspiring lyrics, and this album is in no short supply of
either. This album, despite being only 7 tracks and ~30 minutes long, gets its
point across quickly. The lyrics are inspiring, the music is melodic for large
parts and heavy for others, and on the rare time where the band breaks down…
they really break down. If you like any metalcore-type bands, such as Killswitch
Engage or BTBAM, you should check this out… you will NOT be disappointed. This
album would be higher on my lists if it were longer, that’s a guarantee.
10.) Gallows “Gallows”
I wanted to hate this album. I really, really wanted to.
Following the departure of founder and lone vocalist Frank Carter, I thought
the English hardcore punk band Gallows were dead in the water. Carter was the
heart and soul of the band, giving them a unique vibe that was all their own.
Gallows went out and grabbed Canadian vocalist Wade McNeil of Alexisonfire, a
move that confused many and left me somewhat-stunned, but it worked out for the
best. From the very first song “Victim Culture,” through such vulgarly-awesome
tracks such as “Everybody Loves You (When You’re Fucking Dead)” and “Outsider
Art,” and to the standout finale “Cross Of Lorraine,” McNeil owns the album,
living up to Frank Carter’s reputation while also adding his own vibe to the proceedings.
This is a hardcore punk album, very reminiscent of Every Time I Die or The
Bronx at their heaviest, so it’s not a selected genre for many, but this is a
great album, and possibly a great introduction to the genre for some.
9.) Teramaze “Anhedonia”
Normally, this is an album I would despise. Usually anything
sounding close to power metal is something I would keep away from like the
plague, but this album intrigued me. I heard comparisons to Dream Theater and
Nevermore and just couldn’t stay away. Thank God I did. Apparently Teramaze is
an Australian band that has been at it for a while, and “Anhedonia” is the
child of their long labor. Honestly, a mix between Dream Theater and Nevermore
is the best way to describe this: the vocalist is very much a cross between
Lames LaBrie and Warrel Dane of those respected bands, and the music is
technical while remaining a groove that is unique to the genre. A great
breakout album for the band, and one I’d highly recommend to any fans of metal,
particularly “Without Red Hands,” one of my favorite songs of the entire year.
8.) Acaro “The Disease Of Fear”
Acaro is another band that has helped heal my relationship
with metalcore. Even though some would describe Acaro with labels such as
“deathcore” or “melodic death metal,” they are largely a metalcore band that
doesn’t carry the frilly laces that bands like Black Veil Brides do. Acaro is a
stripped-down metalcore band, and “The Disease Of Fear” is exactly that. Take
early Killswitch Engage, tear away the clean vocals, and add some modern
production and essentially you have Acaro. They are musically melodic while
always remaining vocally aggressive, and one of my favorite new young bands out
on the scene. The fact that they are out touring with a reunited Killswitch
Engage gives me hope that this band is going somewhere, and knows where they
want to go.
7.) Vision Of Disorder “The Cursed Remain Cursed”
Vision Of Disorder is exactly what hardcore music should be. Take away the stupid
“chugga-chugga” song structure of unnecessary breakdowns and bring the hardcore
scene back 20 years to their roots, and you get “The Cursed Remain Cursed.” I
hate to sound like a total purist in terms of musical subgenres, but Vision Of
Disorder is the rightful heir to the hardcore throne left behind by The Clash
and Black Flag, along with their distant cousins Converge. There are no
unnecessary breakdowns, no “chugga-chugga” song structure that repeat
themselves over and over again… this is true hardcore, music that just keeps
blasting away until it creates its own harmony. Songs like “Set To Fail” and
“Blood Red Sun” are perfect examples of that: songs that don’t have to
incorporate blast beats to be heavy, but also don’t need whiny croons to be
melodic; they can be both at the same time.
6.) Hans Zimmer “The Dark Knight Rises (OST)”
Never before has a movie soundtrack emitted such a response
from me as “The Dark Knight Rises.” Not even the “Star Wars” soundtracks, in
all of their glory, and all of the personality-constructing those films did for
me as a youth.. “The Dark Knight Rises,” as a film, was the ending of one
generation, and regardless of your take on the film, the soundtrack was the
fitting conclusion to that generation. Very rarely will I get to see Christian
Bale suit up as Batman, or get to see Christopher Nolan’s name on the end
credits of a Batman film, or even Hans Zimmer’s name on the soundtrack, and
this album is the perfect embodiment of that: a soundtrack that truly
encapsulated the hopelessness that the film portrays, but also the finality of
it all. From the beginning notes of the foreboding “A Storm Is Coming” to the
final harshly-inspiring sounds of “Rise,” this soundtrack is one that, on its
own, takes you on a whirlwind of emotions… no movie necessary. Very rarely will
I heavily praise one single musician or composer for the credit that dozens
deserve, but Hans Zimmer constructed one of the undoubtedly greatest movie
scores of all-time. I think, in the annals of film, this will go down alongside
John Williams “Star Wars” scores and Howard
Shores
5.) Rush “Clockwork Angels”
What can be said about Rush that hasn’t been said a million
times before? They are, without a doubt, one of the greatest rock bands of
all-time and easily three of the greatest musicians still alive. That being
said, it’s amazing to see what old men who have cooperated so many times before
can still come up with that’s so fresh and new, even with their abundance of
previous material. “Clockwork Angels” doesn’t exactly brave new territory, but
Rush is so unique that if they fine-tune their sound just a tad, they are already far different from
every band out there. Songs such as “BU2B” and “Headlong Flight” prove that
Rush can still rock as hard as they ever have and hang up there with the fresh
young musicians of this generation, but songs such as “The Wreckers” and “The
Garden” prove that they are still growing as songwriters and composers, even
after all of these years. While every album Rush releases means one less album
I have to look forward to, it also means that I get another few years to
dissect their most recent work and that’s exactly what I plan to do until they
release their next album… which they will, right?
4.) Prong “Carved Into Stone”
I have always been a fan of Prong, one of the biggest
innovators of crossover metal, and love just about every album they’ve put out.
So, my birthday present to myself was their newest album, “Carved Into Stone,”
an album that has been on perpetual repeat in the eight months since.
Frontman/guitarist Tommy Victor is a man that is always recreating himself, and
I’m glad to see him do it yet again
with “Carved Into Stone.” This is an album that defies subgenres: it’s not
groove metal, it’s not thrash metal, it’s not stoner metal, it’s not
industrial… it’s rather a mix of all of those, totally dependent on the track.
Despite there being so many different influences, it’s really an album that
flows well into itself, and each track brings something new to the table without
trying to recreate the wheel. The production, as opposed to the last few Prong
releases, is crystal clear and one of the best production jobs of the entire
year, in my opinion.
3.) Eryn Non Dae “Meliora”
I was completely unaware of this bands’ existence just a
couple of months ago, but upon figuring out they are a functioning band, I have
become completely infatuated with them. Eryn Non Dae derives from France , and
although their music isn’t totally dependant upon that fact, it’s easy to see
the correlation between their origins and the other well-known French metal
band, Gojira. Despite being labeled “hardcore” by themselves and their fans,
Eryn Non Dae is really anything but. Eryn Non Dae, and the album “Meliora” to a
better extent, is best defined as “avant-garde metal,” as there are elements of
hardcore residing in the music, but there are so many changing parts and so
many progressive elements to the music that its impossible to give them one
label. The music, to me, is heavily inspired of a down-tuned Mastodon, while
the vocals fluctuate between the harsh screamed vocals that comprise the
majority of the songs between the eerie whispers and soft clean vocals that
fill out the rest. This is really a solid breakout album for a band I had
little awareness of just a short time ago, and a really strong statement that
not only is this an up-and-coming band, but perhaps France can be more than
just the country of surrenders after all. Too soon?
2.) Sylosis “Monolith”
If you paid attention to my “end of the year” list from last
year, at all, you might have noticed that Sylosis’ last album, “Edge Of The
Earth,” upset my favorite band of all-time, Machine Head, for album of the
year. Now, with just over a year and a half separating them from their last album,
Sylosis release another juggernaut of an album, “Monolith.” This album isn’t as
long as “Edge Of The Earth” was, but retains all of the elements that made that
album great while also adding in doomy vibes and riffs that change the overall
tone of the record. Frontman/lead guitarist Josh Middleton is really growing as
not only a songwriter, but also as a vocalist, with some of the songs on this
album even including some clean vocals, something that was entirely absent from
the entire “Edge Of The Earth” album. The rest of the band is also improving,
with the rhythm section of Sylosis slowly becoming one of the best in the
entire metal world. This is really just another great album from Sylosis, one
that stays true to their thrash metal roots but also includes several subgenre
greatest hits, such as melodic death metal, doom metal, and heavy progressive
elements that continue to make the band more and more unique.
1.) Deftones “Koi No Yokan”
Perhaps the only thing that can top a Sylosis album for me
as “album of the year” is a truly brilliant album. The album “Koi No Yokan” by
Deftones is a total dark horse that appeared totally unexpected near the end of
the year to claim the top spot in my heart. After their last album, 2010’s
“Diamond Eyes,” I personally thought that the Deftones had peaked. I was
expecting this to be good, but damn was I wrong… this is fucking great. To me,
Deftones have always had a personality crisis, never knowing if they wanted to
be a heavy rock band or a soft metal band, but they have really found their
vibe and take that in stride. This is probably one of the best rock albums I
have ever heard, and can easily be adored by fans of any genre. Vocalist Chino
Moreno has a voice that makes me melt… yes, me, a straight and burly white man.
Every song just slips into the next, and before you know it, your hour of
listening is up and you just want to listen to it yet again… and yet again, it
gets better with every listen. This is an album that is dangerously able to
wrap its arms around you and never let go, so be prepared… if you give the
whole thing a listen, there’s a high chance that you’ll be captured.
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Honorable Mentions
Between The Buried And Me “The Parallax II: Future Sequence”
Black Breath “Sentenced To Life”
Burning Love “Rotten Thing To Say”
Clint Mansell “Mass Effect 3 (OST)”
Every Time I Die “Ex Lives”
Fear Factory “The Industrialist”
The Forsaken “Beyond Redemption”
God Forbid “Equilibrium”
Karybdis “From The Depths”
High On Fire “De Vermis Mysteriis”
Love & Death “Between Here And Lost”
Shadows Fall “Fire From The Sky”
Soen “Cognitive”
The Sorrow “Misery Escape”
Soundgarden “King Animal”
Soulfly “Enslaved”
Stone Sour “House Of Gold And Bones (Part 1)”
Testament “Dark Roots Of The Earth”
Think Of A New King “Spasms Of Upheaval”
Twelve Foot Ninja “Silent Machine”
Van Halen “A Different Kind Of Truth”
While She Sleeps “This Is The Six”
White Arms Of Athena “Astrodrama”
