We’ve been re-publishing the Best Metal of 2011 lists that we’ve seen on other web sites, focusing on sites that have really big audiences — which sorta means, by definition, that they’re not metal-only sites. So far, we’ve reported about the lists on Pitchfork, NPR, Noisecreep, and PopMatters (and we also included DECIBEL magazine’s Top 40 list and . . . uh . . . Revolver’s list). You can catch up on all that by using this Listmania link.
Today, we’re reporting on The Top 50 Albums of 2011 as selected by Adrien Begrand for MSN Entertainment. MSN Entertainment (which is owned by Microsoft) is another broad-scope entertainment site that includes coverage of music, film, games, videos, celebrity gossip, and a wide range of music. They claim over 23 million unique visitors to the site every month, narrowly edging out NCS in audience size. Once again, we’re featuring their list not because MSN Entertainment is one of our go-to sources for discovering and assessing metal, but because we’re curious about what mass-audience outlets are touting from our precious underground genre.
MSN Entertainment has been rolling out their Top 50 list all week in segments, and as of this morning, the list is now complete. To see the list at MSN Entertainment, along with Adrien Begrand’s comments about each album, GO HERE.
A few thoughts about the list: Finally, the Devin Townsend Project and Ghost Brigade get some listmania recognition (and Amon Amarth make another rare appearance, too); thrash-lovers will be happy to see Evile’s name on the list; the list includes high finishes for Obscura and In Solitude; straight-up death metal is largely ignored, despite the plethora of good, filthy, old-school offerings this year; and I predict the Top 4 will prove disappointing to many NCS readers.
MSN ENTERTAINMENT’S TOP 50 ALBUMS OF 2011
50. Powerwolf, Blood of the Saints
49. Locrian, The Clearing
48. Witch Mountain, South of Salem
47. Within Temptation, The Unforgiving
46. Ancient VVisdom, A Godlike Inferno
45. Nightwish, Imaginaerum
44. Tombs, Path of Totality
43. Trap Them, Darker Handcraft
42. Origin, Entity
41. Midnight, Satanic Royalty
40. Blut Aus Nord, 777: The Desanctification
39. Amorphis, The Beginning of Times
38. Ghost Brigade, Until Fear No Longer Defines Us
37. Year of the Goat, Lucem Ferre
36. Mastodon, The Hunter
35. The Gates of Slumber, The Wretch
34. Bullet, Highway Pirates
33. Graveyard, Hisingen Blues
32. SubRosa, No Help For the Mighty Ones
31. TesseracT, One
30. Hedvig Mollestad Trio, Shoot!
29. Destruction, Day of Reckoning
28. Graf Orlock, Doombox
27. Shooting Guns, Born to Deal in Magic 1952-1976
26. Evile, Five Serpent’s Teeth
25. Junius, Reports From the Threshold of Death
24. Altar of Plagues, Mammal
23. Devin Townsend Project, Deconstruction
22. Blood Stain Child, Epsilon
21. YOB, Atma
20. Russian Circles, Empros
19. Boris, New Album
18. Falloch, Where Distant Spirits Remain
17. Deafheaven, Roads To Judah
16. Hell, Human Remains
15. Amon Amarth, Surtur Rising
14. Caldron, Burning Fortune
13. Krallice, Diotima
12. The Devil’s Blood, The Thousandfold Epicentre
11. Liturgy, Aesthetica
10. Wolves in the Throne Room, Celestial Lineage
9. The Atlas Moth, An Ache For the Distance
8. In Solitude, The World. The Flesh. The Devil
7. Today Is the Day, Pain Is A Warning
6. Leviathan, True Traitor, True Whore
5. Obscura, Omnivium
4. Opeth, Heritage
3. Primordial, Redemption At the Puritan’s Hand
2. 40 Watt Sun, The Inside Room
1. Hammers of Misfortune, 17th Street
23 Responses to “LISTMANIA CONTINUES: MSN ENTERTAINMENT’S TOP 50”
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What I find interesting is how much better than the Revolver list this MSN list is.
Yep, there’s no comparison. It comes down to who MSN uses for their metal reviews, and they obviously give him a free hand.
A free hand…to jerk off with? What?? YOU MAKE NO SENSE!!!!
No, no, no. I mean a free hand to . . . to . . . to . . . oh what am I doing responding to this.
Masturbation!!!!!!!
Ooh, interesting, at first glance this “Best Of” list contains 3 (maybe 4, there’s an undecided entry thus far) albums that are on my “Disappointing” list, and the album I have singled out for particular derision.
Clearly MSN need my superior
taste/skills/arrogance. Delete as appropriate.Done.
I`m curious as to how many of the albums you`ll be deriding are also going to be on my best of list. Or whatever the hell I called it….
All of them. The entire list is simply a thinly veiled attack on you, your music taste, and your questionable genetics.
HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT MY SHAMEFUL DNA!?
because you leave it laying all around
I cannot express in words how much I love this site…
I’m feelin so much love up in here today. It makes me moist. In the eyes.
Phro left his DNA in your eyes?
Jesus Phro…use a sweatsock or something
I just gouged out my eyes. I’m using a braille keyboard now.
How is Origin at #42 and Obscura (a great band mind you…but who’s last album I thought was rather disappointing) in the top 5? Which causes me to revert to my original attitude of fuck these lists and the assholes that compile them.
I love both bands, but yeah, this is my main problem with the list (which is still very good in many respects) — no love for the death fucking metal. Not enuf necro.
I cant even consider Amorphis metal anymore.
I am impressed by the entrance of Ghost Brigade to this list but in all honesty why have I not seen PAIN on any of these lists.
I mean grant it, its not on the more Brutal end but far more metal then half the stuff on most of these lists.
Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Pain anywhere I’ve looked. And this is the only metal list I’ve yet seen that includes Amorphis.
Pain is under the radar once again.
But I think You Only Live Twice is a great metal CD. Not to mention that it has worked a a steam valve for Peter in effect making Hypocrisy more badass then ever.
Has it become obvious that Im a completely biased Hypocrisy fanboy yet?
I was going to say “well maybe they are just his top 50 favourites, maybe they aren’t in actual numerical order and he loves them all just the same” but…no.
Who is this Junius and why don’t you like them, Islander? I listened to a little bit and they seemed pretty cool (I really mean a little bit, like… not even half a song… so there may be something I’m missing :P).