Another year gone, another year where I say to myself, “Man, this wasn’t that great a year for metal,” and then struggle to pare my list down to fifteen. This was the year of bands adding 80’s metal influences into their albums, and I was here for it.
The old French Canadians still have it! This record is so dense that I don’t think I ever quite wrapped my head around it. I’m probably selling this one a little short, if I’m honest.
This old school, alt-rock gem with shoegaze tones was right up my alley. Anthemic in all of the right ways.
Dark, sludgy, crusty metal that has the subtlety of a fist to the face. You’ll never believe two guys created this volume.
It’s been fourteen years since their last record, so you’d be forgiven for being a bit skeptical. You’d also be dead wrong, as the band sounds as vibrant as ever, brimming with heavy grooves and killer songs. Two guys in their 60’s and one in his 70’s (!) shouldn’t be able to rock this hard.
Another five years, another killer record from Kreator. Mille and Ventor sound as good as you remember on Extreme Aggression, and Sami Yli-Sirniö is the best guitarist you don’t hear nearly enough about. Add in Fred, formerly of Dragonforce, on bass, and you’ve got a killer band and a collection of thrash tracks that are as good as anything released this year.
I’ve been a fan of Saxon for a long time, but while their recent material has been solid, it hasn’t really kicked ass. Well, Carpe Diem KICKS ASS. The band rips off a tight 45 minutes of metal with absolutely no fat on the bone and riffs that will get the blood flowing through your metal heart. Every bit as good as Priest’s Firepower record, and I LOVE Priest.
I love Meshuggah as much as I love cake, and 66 minutes of Meshuggah is a bit like eating an entire cake: it’s awesome, but I feel like crap and kind of hate myself a little afterwards. In that light, I kind of wish this record had been slightly mutable (i.e., shorter), but it’s still Meshuggah and that’s enough.
Call this one the shocker of the year, as I did not expect this to be as good as it is. Big meaty riffs, tasty solos from Michael Amott and Jeff Loomis, and some thunder to boot. ‘In the Eye of the Storm’ and its old-school 80’s heavy metal vibe was on constant repeat this year.
It’s rare that one hears something that is completely unique these days, and Crippled Black Phoenix fits the bill. Take parts of Katatonia, His Name is Alive, Fields of the Nephilim and The Cure, add some sludge, and blend until you aren’t quite sure what you have anymore and you’ll be in the right neighborhood. At 97 minutes and four tracks over the ten minute mark, this is going to appeal to a very niche audience. However, I was absolutely spellbound by this album.
It’s been 12 years since Arjen Anthony Lucassen did work with his Star One project, and this time it’s with a little different take. Instead of his usual stable of vocalists, Lucassen used a different singer for each track. The results may not be as cohesive as Victims of the Modern Age, but it’s still damned good. As much as I love Damian Wilson, Floor Jansen, and Dan Swanö, only Jeff Scott Soto could pull off this banger of a track, which alone puts it in the top ten.
As I said in my full review, “After twelve long years convinced that this record would never happen, I’m pleased with the results. It certainly has its flaws, but there’s definitely a way forward, should the band choose to carry on… Whether it’s, as the title suggests, closure or continuation for them, I’m satisfied either way.”
I’d been a fan of the band’s prior work, so I won’t say this came out of nowhere. But, I didn’t expect them to strip back to a power trio and deliver a slab of occult-styled, 80’s-influenced heavy metal that is right in my wheelhouse. I wouldn’t be mad at anyone who argued that this is the album of the year: it’s that damned good.
The band could’ve mailed in another album’s worth of their signature, genre-defining sound with their latest, but they didn’t do that. They’ve incorporated strings here and there and brought in some of the influences from their Night Flight Orchestra project and, though it doesn’t always work perfectly, it hits far more than it misses. It’s all the more poignant given that guitarist David Andersson, who wrote most of the album and delivers some of his best solos ever, passed shortly after the album’s release. The band will surely be different moving forward, but this phase certainly goes out at a creative peak.
I described Cancer Culture in my mid-year review as “a taut 37-minute buzzsaw that features 9 certified bangers (and a killer intro) and not an ounce of fat to be found,” and I stand by that six months later. It wouldn’t take a whole lot of convincing to put this at Album of the Year.
I said in my full review, “I can’t see how this doesn’t end up near the top of my year-end list, and we still have eleven months to go.” Well, it’s eleven months later, and Epigone still tops my list of excellent albums. It also topped my Spotify Wrapped list, and that’s the one that really matters. It’s a delight from start to finish and a must-listen for all who have an affinity for progressive metal.
Blood Incantation - TImewave Zero
Our fearless leader Eric doesn’t allow non-metal albums in our year-end list, but this is the album I listened to the most this year. Forty minutes of dark ambient-, Tangerine Dream-influenced electronic music that is the perfect soundtrack for contemplating the void.
Megadeth - The Sick, The Dying… and The Dead!
Russian Circles - Gnosis
Ghost - IMPERA
Behemoth - Opvs Contra Natvram
Devin Townsend - Lightwork
