(So far this week, NCS writer Andy Synn has provided his lists of 2013′s “Great”, “Good”, and “Disappointing” albums, and now he identifies his “Critical Top 10”. To understand what that means, read on…)

Now the idea behind doing a “critical” top ten (as opposed to the “personal” top ten, which will appear tomorrow) is for me to try my best to remove as much personal bias as possible. Obviously the list will reflect my tastes to an extent, but every year I do my very best to try and whittle the list of critically “Great” albums down to the top ten releases that I fervently – and objectively (relatively?) – believe embody the very best of the year in metal.

So what hints can I give you to prime those aching fingers, ready to unleash electronic vitriol at me for my gall and audacity? Well for one thing it was INCREDIBLY difficult to reduce this year’s plethora of “Great” albums down to a mere ten. I struggled and strained to bring it down to 14… then spent several days and nights in deep, soul-searching meditation trying to finalise the ultimate list.

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t that extreme, but there was certainly very little in it between a lot of these entries – which really stands as testament to just how fantastic this year has been. However, rules are rules, and four of those albums had to go.

I’m sorry to say that you’ll find  no Carcass in this top ten, as ultimately the record DOES have a few (very) minor weak points, which I couldn’t stop from niggling at me. The Ocean also didn’t make it, nor did Suffocation, both of which caused me almost physical pain to cut as they’re both such phenomenal records. But there we are. I suffer so you don’t have to.

Hardest of all, though, was forcing myself to cut the fantastic comeback album from Extol, as I’m simply too close to that album to call it fairly. Expect to be hearing more about it tomorrow though…

What else… what else… There’s not just one, but two double-albums in the list, along with two spectacular “comeback” albums, one debut album, and one bittersweet swansong. Also (if I’m reading things right) every one of these bands comes from a different country (at least originally).

Anyway, enough waffling… time for the main event! Continue reading »

Part of our year-end LISTMANIA series consists of posting best-of-the-year lists published at places other than NCS. Usually, the other places are selected metal zines and so-called “big platform” web sites. But this year we’re including a list we’ve never included before, one that was compiled by a big retailer: iTunes.

When I first learned that iTunes had put together a “Best of 2013” list for metal, I was skeptical. First, they’re a store. They sell music, but I don’t know anyone into metal who turns to iTunes for reviews or recommendations. Second, because they’re a store, they’re going to confine their list to albums they sell.  Obviously, with that restriction, a lot of great 2013 albums are out of the running before the race even begins because they aren’t on iTunes.

And third, the top-selling albums at this particular store (at the moment) happen to be by the likes of Beyonce, B.o.B., Pentatonix, We the Kings, and Lorde. Also, the iTunes editors’ picked The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis as album of the year across all genres.

So, with all those reasons to be skeptical, I was really surprised at the quality of the iTunes list. It’s got some names I expected to see — ones that are popping up on lists everywhere — but it also includes some pretty deep cuts, too, and most of the albums are definitely in the more extreme end of the metal spectrum. In fact, this list is a lot better than similar lists I’ve seen at many of the general entertainment portals that I guess some people do visit for recommendations. Continue reading »