Dec 152017
 

 

(Andy Synn’s annual week-long look-back at the year in metal comes to an end today with his “Personal Top 10“, and if you’re puzzled about how this list compares to yesterday’s Top 10 list, read on.)

Well, now that we’ve got all the serious, semi-professional stuff out of the way, I can relax a little bit and focus on the ten albums that have made the biggest mark, or had the biggest impact, on my listening habits over the last twelve months.

This time around it appears my tastes have been largely dominated by Death Metal, with surprisingly little Black Metal sneaking its way into my favourite releases of the year. There’s also quite a bit of melody, particularly towards the top half of my list.

But overall I’d say that the key factor uniting pretty much all my selections here is… riffs. Big, ballsy, heavy as hell riffs, bang-your-head-until-it-bleeds riffs, brimming with red-hot hooks and electrifying power.

I decided not to include any “Honourable Mentions” this time around, mainly because there were just too many names (Satyricon, Hideous Divinity, Fell Ruin, Blaze of Perdition, to name but a few) to choose from and, instead, elected to focus solely on the ten records that have left the deepest and most lasting impression on my eardrums this year.

 

 

 

  1. A HILL TO DIE UPONVIA ARTIS VIA MORTIS

A Hill To Die Upon have been one of my favourite bands ever since I stumbled upon their debut, Infinite Titanic Immortal, way back in 2009, and nothing they’ve released since has ever let me down.

This time around it definitely feels like the band (now expanded to a proper four-piece) focussed in much more on the Black Metal side of their influences, in particular the menacing swagger of Immortal – although there are also touches of Satyricon, Rotting Christ, and even Old Man’s Child to be found throughout the album.

And though I’m still not entirely certain where it stands in my personal ranking of the band’s catalogue so far, I’m damn sure that songs like “Artifice Intelligence” and “Great Is Artemis of the Ephesians” are some of the best tracks they’ve ever written.

https://ahilltodieupon.bandcamp.com/album/via-artis-via-mortis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. REDEMPTORARTHAENEUM

A late addition to this list, and one which caused some major last-minute revisions and reordering, Arthaneum is the third album by Polish Death Metallers Redemptor, and sees them expanding their already impressively technical and groovesome sound in some subtly progressive and atmospheric directions.

Recalling, in places, the many-angled brutality of Morbid Angel and Immolation, as well as the anxiety-inducing dynamism of Decapitated and Soreption, tracks like attention-grabbing opener “Eminence Grise” and the massive “Illusory Fountain” (just two of the album’s many highlights) blend blasting fury and ballistic riffage with flashes of atmospheric dissonance and exotic melody, as the band twist and contort the standard Death Metal template into something quite distinctive, yet instantly recognisable.

I’ll be putting together a Synn Report on these guys very soon, and (hopefully) hooking them up with a few interview questions too, so keep your eyes open for more coverage on Redemptor in 2018!

https://redemptorpl.bandcamp.com/album/arthaneum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. ABSCISSIONVACUITY

The multi-faceted metallic fury of Abscission, whose debut album, Vacuity, blends together technical riff work, proggy bass lines, and gloomy, ashen melody, was another of my big discoveries this year.

Layered with blackened textures and subtly proggy touches, these ten tracks employ all the very best tools and tricks of the trade – from high-velocity blasting to moody melodic introspection, from twisted technicality to brain-nagging hooks – with all the élan of a much older and much more experienced act, resulting in an album that not only instantly impresses, but that goes on to get better and better every time you listen to it.

https://abscissionmetal.bandcamp.com/album/vacuity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. DYSCARNATEWITH ALL THEIR MIGHT

One of my most anticipated releases of the year, the new album by the resurrected Dyscarnate didn’t just live up to my lofty expectations, it smashed them into smithereens through the pinpoint application of carefully calculated brute force and primal aggression.

Hefting some of the biggest riffs and heaviest grooves of the year, With All Their Might is an absolute tour de force of potent metallic might – “Of Mice and Mountains” is an absolute monster of an opener, “This Is Fire!” is a propulsive pulveriser that hits you right in the cerebellum, “Iron Strengthens Iron” is a gigantic, Misery Index style anthem, “Traitors In The Palace” is a looming colossus of doomy belligerence, “Backbreaker” is a relentless barrage of pure heaviness… I could go on and on.

Simultaneously immensely catchy and utterly crushing, I haven’t been able to stop blasting this one since it arrived.

https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/with-all-their-might

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. BLACK ANVILAS WAS

Having quietly become one of my favourite Black Metal bands with their steady release of quality album after quality album, Black Anvil struck gold (or maybe obsidian) this year with eight tracks of their most melodic, menacing, and morbidly infectious material yet.

And while the riffs are as riveting and razor-sharp as ever, and the band’s thrashy energy and blast-driven intensity remains entirely undimmed, the added melody and atmosphere which underpins songs like stunning opener “On Forgotten Ways”, the gorgeously proggy title-track, and phenomenal closer “Ultra”, serves to transform them into works of seductive satanic magic.

This is just one of those albums which I simply cannot stop listening to. And I don’t see that changing any time soon.

https://blackanvil.bandcamp.com/album/as-was

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. BEREFTLANDS

Describing quite how this album makes me feel is not the easiest task. Purged? Cleansed? Broken? I’m sure the Germans probably have a word for it.

Whatever you want to call it though, the four titanic tracks which make up Bereft’s sophomore album conjure up a squalling storm of emotions, with every gargantuan, gloomy riff, every aching, anguished vocal, and every doomy, dramatic drum roll coming together to form something far beyond the mere sum of its parts.

As it stands, very few albums this year struck this deep a chord with me.

https://bereftwi.bandcamp.com/album/lands

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. DVNEASHERAN

Another one of this year’s unexpected (and unexpectedly awesome) discoveries, these psychedelic sci-fi metallers produced a truly amazing, genre-spanning piece of work with their second album Asheran, one that’s absolutely tailor-made for fans of Mastodon, Intronaut, and Baroness, or anyone who loves a good bit of sprawlingly progressive, gorgeously melodic, shamelessly heroic sonic storytelling.

Easily one of the most daring and dynamic albums of the year, and one which only gets more involving and more immersive as you listen to it.

https://songs-of-arrakis.bandcamp.com/album/asheran

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. AU-DESSUSEND OF CHAPTER

Even I was surprised by how quickly and easily this album clicked with me. As much as I enjoyed their debut EP (and I really did), I never would have expected that the follow-up would swiftly become one of my favourite and most listened-to albums of the year.

Every single one of these seven tracks is utterly hypnotic and unremittingly intense, and whether you want to call it “Post Black Metal”, “Atmospheric Black Metal”, or just straight up “Black Metal”, I can honestly say that End of Chapter is one album you won’t forget in a hurry, which rightly deserves to be put right up there alongside modern classics like Exercises in Futility (Mgła) and Ghost Chants (Outré).

https://au-dessus.bandcamp.com/album/end-of-chapter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. GLOSONGRIMEN

“Mark my words, although it’s only February, I think I’ve already found one of my albums of the year.”

Even though these words were written over ten months ago, I clearly knew what I was talking about, as almost no other band this year has had as instant and as immense an impact on my listening as Gloson.

From start to finish the music on this album makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck, my pulse begin to race, and my heart begin to beat along to its own gloriously grim and gloomy rhythm. And while every song here is more than capable of standing on its own, Grimen really is best experienced as a singular, captivating whole.

Ultimately there was very little separating this from the album which ended up being my number one pick and, on a different day, this might well have been my favourite album of the year. It really is that good.

https://artofpropaganda.bandcamp.com/album/grimen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. BYZANTINETHE CICADA TREE

Like the Highlander, however, there can be only one, and while I wasn’t as big a fan of this band’s previous album, To Release Is To Resolve, as I’d hoped to be (though it’s still a solid effort), The Cicada Tree is everything I ever wanted from them, and shows the group’s new line-up not only coalescing into one lean, mean, riffing machine, but also coming together to push the proggier side of their sound even further, without losing that distinctive balance that makes their electric, eclectic, Prog-Thrash sound so exciting and invigorating.

From the explosive opening pairing of “New Ways to Bear Witness” and “Vile Maxim”, through to astounding closer “Verses of Violence”, via the sombre and intricate strains of “Dead As Autumn Leaves” and the doomy grandeur of “The Subjugated”, there’s not a moment here that doesn’t sound absolutely vital and completely and utterly essential to the entire experience.

Ambitious, artistic, infinitely infectious, and packed to the gills with more riffs than you could ever ask for, The Cicada Tree is a phenomenal album, and one which hammers home my belief that Byzantine deserve to be one of the biggest bands and most popular bands in Metal, as they’re unquestionably one of the best.

https://byzantine.bandcamp.com/album/the-cicada-tree

 

 

*******

 

So there we have it. Ten albums that I’ve been listening to pretty much non-stop all year, and which I don’t intend to stop listening to any time soon.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed this year’s weekly Listravaganza, and uncovered some hidden gems in the process.

See you all next year, same time, same place!

(Actually, I’ll see you all next week, where I’ll be publishing some catch-up reviews of some albums and EPs which I didn’t get chance to feature prior to this, as well as making a start on some upcoming albums from 2018).

 

 

  28 Responses to “2017 – A YEAR IN REVIEW(S): THE PERSONAL TOP TEN”

  1. OH GLOSON HOW DID I MISS YOU PLEASE FORGIVE ME

  2. OK, just 8 more records to check out, nothing much…seriously, listening to 200 + records and still keeping track of each of them. Don’t know how you manage that. Kudos.

    • Thankfully my daily commute usually allows me to get in an album each way, and my work situation/role also often allows me the luxury of listening to music, which helps matters a lot!

  3. Here’s a spotify playlist of this list. https://open.spotify.com/user/onefunkynote/playlist/6Z078jHDmErPs3uekJ2Fb4

    Thanks again for all the lists this year! I now have a shit ton of music to absorb over the next 2 weeks that I don’t have to work!

  4. Curious on your thoughts when comparing 2017’s Au Champs Des Morts to the Au-Dessus albums? Why the Au-Dessus placed and the Au Champs did not.

    • While I liked both, I thought the Au-Dessus album was stronger and had better energy overall.

      And since this is my personal list… that’s basically the long and the short of it.

  5. Only heard 2 of these, which means i have some purchasing left this year!

  6. Since my number one of the year is also “The Cicada Tree,” I had to check more into your list. So, without listening, I bought A Hill To Die Upon (although fun I am already familiar and enjoy them, but forgot about the new one), Gloson, and Au-Dessus.

  7. Very glad to see Gloson on here. You picked that out way back and I haven’t put it down since. Great choice!

    • I’m glad more and more people are appreciating that band/album as “Grimen” seemed to fly under the radar for a lot of people.

  8. Great list! and thank you for all the Listmania articles; best time of the year reading through, every year.

  9. Wow, not heard a single one of these! Trying to get my own list together is becoming more and more difficult, though one can never hear everything to possibly include.. I look forward to checking these out!

  10. Haven’t even heard of any of these bands. But by the reviews it just seem to be post/atmospheric/technical stuff. So I guess I didn’t miss anything good then.

  11. Always a really much appreciated effort. So much overlapped albums once again… Hope to dig out some gems such as oathbreaker and obed marsh last year.
    Thanks a lot Andy and NCS team for the year end list extravagenza !

  12. Byzantine has this tune Efficacy that just gets me going. This band doesn’t get enough kudos. Maybe it’s the Power Groove grouping or something.

    • I enjoy the Gloson a lot this year and Have the DVNE in my top 10 but the rest of your list, i would have spun these other 8 all year long. Good job! They are all records i want to have, and that is why NCS is the metal site to read!

  13. Vacuity lists a 2016 release date, but did it come out this year after all?
    I made a similar mistake with Haunter’s Thrinodia because I listened to it so much this year.
    Good, varied list aside from that.

  14. I had the privilege to see Dyscarnate and Black Anvil this year; both in 3 weeks too.

  15. I’ve only heard one of these albums (dvne), but that gives me a lot to go through in the future. I’ve been looking at some of your lists from past years, and it’s awesome how you guys always highlight lesser known bands.

  16. Glad to see someone else picked Gloson, was a great album I first heard of here. Wish more people dug the Coltsblood album. Starting to think I’m the odd one

  17. I maybe the lone dissenter here when it comes to Gloson. I’ve found them to be always this band that hints at something really good but most of the time settles for some Cult of Luna trope(not a bad thing but definitely could be done better) or Isis(debut Yearwalker had more Isis references). And that ‘really good’ can be found on songs like ‘Embodiment’ and ‘Cringe’ and Yearwalker’s Arsgang. I’d really want them to delve further into themselves.
    On the other hand the band ‘Ire Wolves’ had a release called ‘Heirs’ which is a much more developed effort and is prolly my fav post metal release of the year.

    Abscission and Redemptor seems to be something I haven’t come across. Thanks for the finds.

    • It’s a shame that “Grimen” didn’t click with you the same way it did with me, but I shall endeavour to check out Ire Wolves asap.

 Leave a Reply

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

(required)

(required)

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.