I'll start things off by giving a few quick reviews on some of the albums I checked out that I felt were worth talking more about.
Skip past them if you just want to jump into the "best X" section.
Grace for Drowning - Steven Wilson:
This one was a tad bit of a disappointment for me. I’ll attribute that to me getting hyped about something sounding like Porcupine Tree and ending up with something else entirely. But with that aside, I still consider it a decent album. I’ll refrain from saying its pretentiousness holds it back, and instead chalk this one up to a few songs that are just too grandiose for their own good.
The Great Mass - Septicflesh:
This little sucker was a genre leap I hadn’t made in a while. Melodic Death Metal isn’t something I regularly partake in but I just couldn’t stop putting this record on spin. It’s catchy as hell, and for something with such harsh vocals and over-the-top doom and gloom it just works so well. It manages to be symphonic in arrangement and sound, but without cramming it down your throat like Nightwish and Epica.
An Ache for the Distance - The Atlas Moth:
Just when I thought I was done for the year assessing my top albums, I checked this one out on a whim and was immediately amazed. Feelings of vulnerability, impending doom, darkness, and mystery permeate every inch of the surreal soundscape, and the NSFW, (yet tasteful) album artwork sets the mood of the album perfectly. Spin this record on a long drive somewhere or when you have some time alone, and you’ll be transported to the middle of a dark swamp -- unable to find your way out -- with only the distant cries of humanity’s last hour echoing through the chilling night air to accompany you. Creepy.
Leveler - August Burns Red:
I’m not really the biggest ABR fan, but they always throw out one or two tracks every album that really wow me. Leveler is no exception to this reoccurance. About 15% of this album is great but the rest I don’t particularly care for. For instance, Carpe Diem really clicked with me. The track’s slower speed (in comparison to the rest of the album) really allows you to appreciate ABR’s solid musicianship and the bridge of the song is incredible. Internal Cannon has some awesome parts too, despite how laughable the lyrics are to me. All in all, I find ABR continues to sit in the same vein as Between the Buried and Me: A few fantastic tracks, some legendary moments, but overall just a miss.
Carbon-Based Anatomy - Cynic:
Normally I wouldn’t mind just having six tracks in my prog albums (it is an EP after all), but when you take out all the filler -- excuse me -- ambient tracks you end up with only 3 songs that total up to be 16 minutes of music. How disappointing, considering how amazing those 16 minutes are. I love how organic it all sounds, and the jazz-influenced musicianship is loose in the best way. Shame on you for being such a tease, Cynic.
Dead Throne - The Devil Wears Prada:
omg i liek the part wear the singer scre4ms and stuf while the band goes supr slow and the giutars go CHUGGA CHUGGA CHUG
Joking aside, these guys stepped their game up on this one. They managed to leave their look-a-likes behind and carve out their own niche in the overly saturated metalcore scene. You’ll notice they got heavier but unlike their latest EP managed to keep it balanced out with just enough clean vocals/melodies to please the ears. I’m not a regular in the hardcore scene, but from the outside looking in, it was a solid record.
Alone - Evan Brewer:
As an album, I don’t think Alone really carries enough personality or color to hold up to other musical acts this year. As a demo tape of some guy playing two basses at once and redefining how we look at contemporary music’s most underrated instrument, I’d say it’s fantastic.
Impressions - Lunatic Soul:
Well, Mariusz Duda gave us exactly what he promised. An ambient soundtrack to the story that is Lunatic Soul I & II. It comes off a little sparse, considering his works are already pretty laid back and I can’t help but feel this album is just a sandwich with no meat in it. The remixes he included are decent, but to me the less I think of this album as an actual album and the more I think of it as an unreleased B-side or soundtrack, the better I feel about it. Hopefully Mariusz returns with something a bit more substantial next time.
Lulu - Metallica/Lou Reed:
Awful. Just awful. I don’t know how this exists. In fact, for the sake of my ever-slipping grasp on reality I’m going to pretend it doesn’t.
Rest - Rwake:
This record is dense. And I mean dense. I could listen to the same song 4 times in a row and only begin to pick apart layer upon layer of sludge and emotion these gentlemen have created. I’d feel guilty commenting on how “good" or “bad” it was, considering I haven’t even begun to grasp it. Maybe I’ll do a write up on it later when I’ve had more time to digest this neutron star of an album.
Arrows & Anchors - Fair to Midland:
Texas rockers return with a solid follow-up to Fables. They really show off how diverse their style can be on this album. You get everything from country, to punk, to electronic chiptune. As always, their keyboardist continues to amaze me with his flourishes and snazzy hooks. Too bad the album was mixed the way it was. It becomes difficult to pick out individual instruments on a few of the tracks, and that’s immediately evident when Whiskey & Ritalin, the second song (or first real song), comes in on the album. But despite that, the fantastic singing and overall exceptional diversity on this album won my heart over anyways.
Heritage - Opeth:
Haters gonna hate. Probably the most controversial album in my sphere of music to be released this year. Mikael dropped his death growls, completely changing Opeth’s dynamic. The band opted for a more 80‘s prog fusion sound on this album - a direction that probably left some fans hurt and confused. However, don’t call them pussies just yet. Some of the moments on this album are even more dramatic then anything on their last two albums. The flute breakdown (lol?) on the track Famine is one of the heaviest and most brutal things I’ve ever heard Opeth do. Or how about the end of the track Folklore? That is some groovin’ stuff that still feels as dramatic and moving as their older works. Of course, not every song is perfect. There’s a couple tracks in the middle of the cd that I feel either blend into obscurity or don’t have enough substance to warrant their existence/length. All in all, I’m happy with Heritage. Opeth has done what it does best quite consistently the past few albums. Shaking things up was a good move in my opinion.
Favorite guitarwork of the year: David Davidson - Revocation
I don’t consider myself an expert on guitarwork by any means. But out of all the albums I checked out this year, the playing on Chaos of Forms by Revocation stood out the most. It’s just awesome. The riffs are badass and the solos... oh god... the solos are incredible. A lot of solo sections are both guitarist playing the same thing at once, and thanks to the tuning and how the album is produced, they complement each other rather than muddle together. They change styles on a dime, too. One second it’s gnarly black metal riffage, the next its power metal-style or even bluesy solos. Good stuff.
Honorable mention: Chris Letchford - Scale The Summit
Favorite bass playing of the year: Anything in Evan Brewer’s album, Alone.
Playing two basses at once...
Mind. Blown.
Honorable mention: Rosetta
Favorite drummer of the year: Martin Axenrot - Opeth
Martin Axenrot charges ahead of the competition this time around. I’ve respected the man since hearing his work on Watershed. After all, playing with Opeth has to be a tough book to follow; with all the intricacies of the bands rhythm section. Lots of left foot switching to hi-hat and double bass, nonlinear fills, and swings in tempo, mood, power, etc. However, even knowing all that, I was astonished by his performance when I first heard The Devil’s Orchard. That shit was insane. But it was only a hint of what would come to be. Despite Opeth’s jazzy tendencies, switching to a full jazz-fusion record had to be an uncomfortable stretch to some elements of their playing. But not for Martin Axenrot. You can’t help but notice how much ass he kicks on this record. Nearly every track is filled to the brim with tight jazz grooves and groovy fills. Much like Gavin Harisson, the man’s left hand is always on the move, snagging a few open hi hat strokes or ghost notes on the snare in between 2 and 4. A lot of it is ride patterns on different parts of the set at once, like the snare and the ride. Take a listen to the end of The Devil’s Orchard. Those double paradiddle grooves show exactly how much someone can do with right dynamics in their playing. I’ve never heard a metal drummer jump to a different style so stark in contrast and yet so quickly. He sounds like he’s right in his element, and for that I award him drummer of the year in my book.
Honorable mention: Sean Reinert - Cynic
Put on the song Carbon-Based Anatomy. Listen for 45 seconds. There ya go.
Favorite vocals of the year: Andrew Sudderth - Fair To Midland
For those who know of Fair to Midland, Andrew Sudderth has one of the most recognizable voices in art/prog rock. His range spans miles upon miles, and his vocal styles vary as well. On Arrows & Anchors he demonstrates that full force. Be it roars, shouts, screams, or falsettos, Sudderth pulls them all off flawlessly and with personality. Hell, even the country singing on Amarillo Sleeps On My Pillow is fantastic. The only thing I’d like to hear him do is a few dark, brooding passages. You know, the kind that spill over with emotion and strike fear in the listeners. However, considering the brighter atmosphere of their work, perhaps there isn’t a place for that... yet.
Favorite instrumental: Kansas - Devil Wears Prada
Hardcore goes Post-rock. And it does it well. I wish I could have seen the expression on my face when this track rolled around on my first listen to Dead Throne. TDWP is not the first Hardcore band to do this. August Burns Red had Meridian, and as far as I can tell, Underoath started blending the two genres together before that on tracks like Casting Such A Thin Shadow. However, this sounds much more refined. I could have easily mistaken this for a God Is An Astronaut song. The creepy distorted vocals halfway through really give it a nice touch, as well. Even if you don’t like Hardcore, you’ll still get something out of this song.
Honorable mention: Whales - Scale The Summit
Favorite song: Breaking All Illusions - Dream Theater
Dream Theater has never been a band that consistently delivers for me, but this song on its own, remodeled my opinion of them. Hell, when I heard they were only playing it in a different city than me, I didn’t hesitate to change venues immediately. That’s how much I wanted to hear them play it live. From the jumpy, erratic intro to the soaring chorus, Breaking All Illusions touches nearly every facet of Dream Theater’s playing I’m familiar with. The band speeds things up, they slow them down. They go from laid back to funk. It’s quite the ride. Some say this song is too showboaty. Others say it is too long or doesn’t really have structure. I beg to differ. Somewhere in all those solo sections and flashy instrumental flourishes is a story that is being told, and it is quite the journey. From a more technical standpoint, DT obviously nails it on the head. Rudess and Petrucci are the center of attention; taking turns melting face. The rhythm section runs a tight ship, and stays relevant the entire piece. Even LaBrie’s vocals (which I usually only feel so-so about) are sung beautifully. Out of the year, this was the Prog-Metal piece that really set the bar for me. It was hard to listen to bands like Oddysey after being graced with such greatness. Essentially, DT took everything I love about them, and funneled it into one giant epic for me to enjoy. Fantastic work.
Honorable mention: Holes In The Desert - The Atlas Moth
Favorite album of the year: The Hunter - Mastodon
Annnnnnnd here it is. Let me start by saying this was a tough choice, but one factor really helped me out on this one. I couldn’t remove this cd from my car’s player. It was all I listened to. And I didn’t skip around the album to find the best tracks... I listened to the whole thing from start to finish over and over. While this album most certainly doesn’t have Mastodon’s strongest single, or even their best song, it’s all-around solid. Every track has something I enjoy -- whether its Brann’s ludicrous drum fills (Sorry steering wheel), beefy riffs, or catchy choruses. Speaking of which, I never thought I’d be raving about the vocals on a Mastodon record. They’re just awesome this time around, and the hooks are so addicting! I couldn’t get Curl Of The Burl’s chorus out of my head for weeks. Uh whoa oh, Uh whoa OOOooooh. Over and over. The solos in nearly all the songs are fantastic, but Brent Hinds soulful trip to the stars in the title track is probably the most emotional guitar solo I've heard all year. This record wins my heart this year for its sheer replay value and addicting nature. My hat’s off to you, Georgia boys. You done did good.
Honorable mention: An Ache For The Distance - The Atlas Moth
