Dec 032014
 

 

(Near the end of every year your humble editor humbly invites selected musicians to contribute lists of their favorite releases as part of our year-end Listmania series. This year I asked Ayloss, the man behind Spectral Lore from Greece and the creator of one of my favorite releases of 2014 (reviewed here), to share his recommendations — because I had a strong feeling it would be very interesting, and so it is.)

*****

I don’t usually listen to a lot of music in the year it comes out, as not having the free time I used to have, I prefer to wait until the mediocre stuff gets weeded out and the good remains. When Islander asked me to compile a 2014 list, I realized that my selection was without much character, most likely the exact same stuff you’ll see in many other lists for this year. So I took this as an opportunity to dive back into the underground and do some research.

Yet, I still feel like I haven’t listened to enough music for this year, so this is absolutely not a “best of” list, just some albums that I can certainly attest to being great. In the spirit of discovery, I will mention the “top” stuff below (absolutely check them out if you haven’t already) and then proceed to talk about the stuff that deserves more exposure.

 

SaorAura

ThantifaxathSacred White Noise

Falls of RaurosBelieve In No Coming Shore

Blut Aus NordMemoria Vetusta III – Saturnian Poetry

PanopticonRoads To The North

Mare CognitumPhobos Monolith

Morbus ChronSweven

Anubis GateHorizons

 

 

 

Spectral TowerSpectral Tower

No, I’m not just picking these guys because they have “spectral” in their name, nor because of their awesome cover. Their EP is a monument to economy, all is simple yet totally works. I love the guitar sounds, effects, and bedroom production too. One of the best doom/blackgaze things I’ve heard recently (blackgaze is a terrible word, but black metal/shoegaze sounds even worse).

http://spectraltower.bandcamp.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Northern OakOf Roots And Flesh

Excellent, serious folk metal with an atmospheric, blackened edge from this English band. Love the way they use the flute, almost like a lead guitar. Their musicality is also quite advanced, and the album is full of powerful, deceivingly simple, interlocking melodies. What’s cool is that they are a young band in which there seems to be evident space for improvement (some counterpoint leaves something to be desired, for example), but is still entirely fucking ace even right now. Great lyrics too.

http://music.northernoak.co.uk/album/of-roots-and-flesh

 

 

 

 

 

 

SkaurGravoel

Although I’m not a fan of “Nordlanduberalles” kinds of messages, musically Skaur are in the top tiers of epic, folkloric black metal, with an almost classicist, high-brow attitude. Their biggest influence is Taake, but they might be or might become even better. With less abrupt changes and more cohesive structure, not many will be able to compete at this compositional level. This is actually rather old re-recorded material; their new album is out in January and is due on high expectations.

 

 

 

 

 

EphemerGloire Immortelle

The Notre Honeur Immortelle demo was just barely in 2013, but as this LP by Eisenwald combines both of Ephemer’s demos, it will do. There’s something in their sound that elevates the simple melodies and transfers you to a dark, medieval fantasy world. Plus, with a title like “Vers d’anciennes cités magiques”, I’m right off to read Steven Erikson.

 

 

 

 

Howls of EbbVigils of the 3rd Eye

I do listen to some death metal that goes by the norm, but it’s usually not… special. Most usually, something to listen to just once, for the energy of it, and then forget. Howls of Ebb is obviously not that kind of band. We’re speaking about ultra wierdness here, exceptional and unconventional composition, and yeah, atmosphere. Just look at the cover. Like some kind of horror circus caught up between heaven and hell (that’s what they mean by “limbonic death metal” in the description, by the way). Closer to hell, though, obviously.

http://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/vigils-of-the-3rd-eye

 

 

 

 

 

Thy Darkened ShadeLiber Lvcifer I: Khem Sedjet

If you want riffs above all, T.D.S. can take care of that. It’s a kind of thrashy black metal married with the technicality and compositional attitude of Thorns/Dodheimsgard. Add an epic but sinister layer of atmosphere and you’ve got one of the year’s black metal tops.

 

 

 

 

 

TeramazeEsoteric Symbolism

What a fantastic band, what an overlooked progressive metal album. Melancholic, brainy, quality never diminishing in 77 minutes. They’re also Christian, yet write quite interesting lyrics. Makes you think.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqNAEMZWOX8

 

 

 

 

Nucleus TornStreet Lights Fail

Nucleus Torn is probably the most underrated band in the entire universe. Fredy Schneider is one of the greatest composers who has ever passed through metal, even though his band is actually just playing metal 10% of the time, which doesn’t seem to have helped with either the metal audience, or the prog rock audience.

At their heart, they are of course a prog rock band, just with a chamber orchestra rather than the typical rock orchestration, which is there too. Their last album is their most dismal and down-to-earth, with the dreamy “medieval” atmosphere being reduced. It’s still a masterpiece though.  Listen to this album and then to their previous 4 ones, otherwise I’ll kick you in the head.

http://nucleus-torn.bandcamp.com/album/street-lights-fail

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tengger CavalryAncient Call

Yes, I am totally putting this Chinese-Mongolian nomadic extreme folk metal thing here, because it rules. Ok, maybe the metal is at times contrived, but the Mongolian folk is perfectly fused with it and there is genuine quality here that elevates it beyond gimmick or fusion novelty. Plus, it makes me want to ride a horse and chop some assholes’ heads off, which is always welcome.

http://tenggercavalry.bandcamp.com

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxXxx-_GNbA

 

 

 

 

P.S.  Stargazer (perhaps as a middle finger gesture to end-year lists) release their new album on the 31st of December. I don’t really need to take a wild guess to know that it would end up here had time travel been invented, so go ahead and listen to the already released song. What an intro and overall masterpiece.

Editor’s Note: After Ayloss prepared this article, a full stream of the new Stargazer appeared on Bandcamp — popping up on December 2 instead of December 31 — so here it is:

http://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/a-merging-to-the-boundless

 

 

 

Bonus list, because you shouldn’t listen to just metal:

 

 

Kayo DotCoffins on Io.

There’s little chance Kayo Dot would have released anything and it wouldn’t end up in my year-end list. This goes in a pop/new wave/80’s vintage sci-fi territory, not something I would usually listen to, but with supreme musicality and prog attitude they make it work.  Of course they do.

http://theflenser.bandcamp.com/album/coffins-on-io

 

 

 

 

 

 

FKA TwigsLP1

Her songs are fantastic, so are her videos. I actually recommend listening to the music first without the visual part, as it’s too much information to handle. These disjointed, reductive, yet complex versions of pop songs don’t seem to make much sense at first,  but when they finally do, it really hits you.  Well, at least it does me.

 

 

 

 

 

Jon Hopkins – Asleep Versions EP

These are some ambient re-workings of songs from the 2013 LP, Immunity. Think of it like what Cynic did with the Re-Traced EP (totally recommended, by the way). The Asleep versions are obviously excellent, but what I really want to say is ehm, listen to Immunity. It’s electronic music that doesn’t any more sound electronic; it sounds human, deep, vibrant. And more transcendental than your transcendental black metal. Also, I’m going to totally steal and also post a song from Immunity, the best combination of video and music, like, ever.

 

 

 

 

 

My Brightest DiamondThis Is My Hand

This is the project of Shara Worden, who started as a back-up musician in the band of Sufjan Stevens (the best song-writer of our era, had to say it) and has delivered four faultless albums up to now. She has an amazingly expressive voice, great instrumentations with the expected neoclassical influence, and she mixes various pop genres yet somehow stands above them, like a poet who is obliged to express herself in a short newspaper article.

http://mybrightestdiamond.bandcamp.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Solar FieldsBlue

I suspect that not a lot of metalheads will be into this project. There’s not much darkness here, and Magnus Birgersson does sometimes step into the new-agey, trancey area. But his sound design skills and attention to detail (oh, the glorious reverb) is spectacular, not to mention he’s a true musician, capable of great melody, unlike some others in his field. I could definitely call this prog ambient.

http://solarfields.bandcamp.com/album/blue

 

 

  16 Responses to “LISTMANIA 2014: A YEAR-END LIST FROM AYLOSS (SPECTRAL LORE)”

  1. Holy hell, yet MORE stuff I need to check out.

    I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad about that 😉

    • I had much the same reaction. I got very excited reading this list because I was unfamiliar with most of the releases — and then I thought, where will I ever find the time?!?

      • I said yesterday that I was done checking new releases for the year.
        PSH! Next day I’m here again frothing over all the new stuff on Ayloss’s list, while at the same time some voice screams for a break so I can soak in more of what I already have. 😛
        I guess its the opposite of a problem, though.

  2. Amazing… I love your top list, and Im so intrigued by the extra additions. Not one have I heard save Ephemer, which now I must go back and check into again.
    Thanks for sharing not only the list, but the amazing album you put out this year as well.

  3. So out of nowhere they bumped that Stargazer release from December 30th to the 2nd! What! Time to play catch up….

  4. Love this list. Saor, Howls of Ebb and Northern Oak are some of my favorites from this year. So is Anubis Gate- those guys are underrated. I’m definitely going to check out the things here that I’ve missed.

  5. Very interesting list! Thy Darkened Shade’s album is my AOTY what a great record. There is a lot of stuff here I havent heard as well which is always nice

  6. this is a very cool and interesting list : )

  7. A very interesting list, I will surely check out a lot of this bands.
    And let me say it’s also a GREAT cover art gallery, there’s not a stinker-amateur design in the whole list (OK, except the pop section maybe).

  8. This list is relevant to my interests; my top ten is starting to look quite similar, though with Spectral Lore’s III included. Stylistically, there’s a lot of similarity there – another album I would expect to see in that grouping is Woods of Desolation’s ‘As the Stars’.

  9. We seem to have fairly different tastes, and yet I still thoroughly enjoyed going through this list. I like the idea of adding in a top few non-metal releases as well. Many thanks!

  10. “Vigils of the Third Eye” officially added to my best albums of the year list. Wow.

  11. The not metal section should have included Thomas Giles New Album (if you knew about it of course),
    the song mutilated world is catchy and solid.

    On a side note Howls Of Ebb…like wtf…good?…..bad? I cannot decide.

  12. Thantifaxath was fantastic, looking forward to more from that band.

  13. Spectral Lore´s III is one the best albums I´ve heard in years. And even being late, I wanted to say that Ayloss is also a guy with awesome taste, open minded and adventurous for sure. Thanks for you album, man and all these recommendations… some of them I knew and liked but not most of them… That girl´s project: My brightest diamond is so creative. A great listen.

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