Nov 242024
 

(written by Islander)

I haven’t kept a running count, but I think a substantial majority of the music I’ve written about in these Sunday columns has consisted of singles, usually advance tracks from forthcoming albums. A couple of reasons for that:

First, I can put our spotlight on a lot more bands and records that way. In the time it would take me to listen to and scribble thoughts about one album, I can do that for pieces of six or seven albums.

Second, I don’t think I’m great at writing album reviews. I find it difficult to provide some kind of succinct discussion because I always feel like I’m leaving out important aspects of the music, and so I often get bogged down in the details. Even when an album is already out I feel that way, even though it might be a silly feeling since everyone can listen and discover the details for themselves.

All of that makes today’s collection a rarity, because today I’ve chosen to write about three albums that have already been released, and one new song (and video) that’s a bonus track for the vinyl edition of another album that’s already out. Continue reading »

Aug 052017
 

 

(Andy Synn makes amends for a year-end 2016 oversight — and gives us a good excuse to revisit some of last year’s highlight tracks..)

I recently made a terrifying discovery… I never actually finished my regular series of End of Year lists!

That’s right, somehow, through negligence or indolence on my part, I completely forgot to publish my list of my Top 10 Songs of 2016.

Thankfully it turned out that I’d already made a shortlist – which I’ve now whittled down to the ten items below – so this egregious wrong can finally be made right! Continue reading »

Jan 302017
 

 

There’s a possibility that at this late date I might still receive a promised year-end list or two, but with those possible exceptions our 2016 edition of LISTMANIA has concluded — or at least close enough that I’m ready to provide this wrap-up.

Once again, we had an extensive series of year-end lists. As usual, some of them were re-postings of lists that appeared at “big platform” web sites and print magazines, and others were prepared by our own cadre of writers. But once again the largest group of list posts came from invited band members and assorted other guests, including fellow metal bloggers/writers. Plus, we’ve also received many lists in reader comments on THIS POST (and new lists are still being added there).

In this article I’m collecting links to all of the 2016 year-end lists that we published, divided into categories and listed within each category in the order of their appearance. For people who are looking for the best metal that 2016 had to offer, I think these lists provide a tremendous resource.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to 2016 LISTMANIA and to everyone who made time to read what we pulled together. Continue reading »

Jan 182017
 

 

(In what has become an annual tradition as we near the finish line for our LISTMANIA series, our good friend and long-time NCS comrade BadWolf (aka Joseph Schafer) takes a break from his responsibilities as editor of Invisible Oranges and brings us his year-end list of top non-metal albums from 2016.)

Three things kept me from turning this list in sooner, one large and fairly insurmountable, the other small and petty but terribly uplifting.

Let’s begin dark, and head upward toward the light, because these albums are, on the whole, not very pretty. Continue reading »

Jan 162017
 

 

(Our Norwegian contributor Gorger, who usually embarrasses and rewards us by identifying releases that flew under our radar, brings us a year-end list divided into three parts, with this being the third (Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here). To find more of his reviews, type “Gorger” in our search bar and visit Gorger’s Metal.)

Ladies and hobos, sorry about the delay. We’re finally approaching the albums that really stand out by creating their own sphere and universe. Or that I for some reason have spent a lot of time with and fallen head over heels with. To be honest, I don’t have an absolute favorite album from the year, but these are all awesome. I could perhaps have ranked them, but but by the time I’d be done and ready to publish, spring would be upon us. Thus; sequence, thy name is randomness. Albeit, admittedly, release (or rather review) date may to a certain degree have had a finger in the pie.

I’m throwing in proper streams this time. Click the bc logo (where available) to access Bandcamp. Continue reading »

Jan 102017
 

 

(Our Norwegian contributor Gorger, who usually embarrasses and rewards us by identifying releases that flew under our radar, brings us a year-end list divided into three parts, with this being the second (Part 1 is here). To find more of his reviews, type “Gorger” in our search bar and visit Gorger’s Metal.)

This entire list… the more I reflect, the more pointless it seams. Just like one of those words that all of a sudden loses all its meaning. First of all, comparing and ranking all these individual expressions of profound art, oftentimes completely incomparable, causes grievous frustrations. Just how the hell does one compare such diverse stuff as Borknagar, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Obscura, and Schammasch, just to name but a few?

Secondly, I’ve only heard a fraction of what 2016 had to offer. At the time of writing, Encyclopaedium Metallum has 6,922 albums and 9,165 other releases registered for 2016 alone. Those numbers will continue to grow well into 2017. But for now, that’s 19 full-length studio albums each and every day on average.

Allow me to spread the rest of my gibberish in between the following albums. As much as I’ve enjoyed the albums on the previous list, here’s a bunch of even better albums, or at least better received by me. Let’s call them the “second best”, albeit in their own right, they are second to none. The order is partly sorted by release, but you can view it as totally random. Continue reading »

Jan 092017
 

 

(Wil Cifer brings us one more year-end list to accompany his earlier ones.)

This could almost be the Top 10 Hard Rock albums of 2016, as many of these bands ride the line between what is considered metal and what might not meet today’s standards of metal. They are much more likely to be heard on Sirius Radio or any air waves that venture into metal, like KNAC. Some of these acts are veterans who are back in fighting shape, and the very fact that they are mainstream means they have already paid their dues in the clubs, at the very least. These are not bands some sites I write for like Cvlt Nation would cover.

Varied sub-genres like thrash, power-metal, and even folk metal are thrown in, but in terms of heaviness these album ride the middle road. If you have still not figured out how I am defining mainstream metal here, then go back to sniffing glue, as here are your Top Ten mainstream metal albums of 2016. Continue reading »

Jan 092017
 

 

(Our Norwegian contributor Gorger, who usually embarrasses and rewards us by identifying releases that flew under our radar, brings us a year-end list divided into three parts, with this being the first. To find more of his reviews, type “Gorger” in our search bar and visit Gorger’s Metal.)

So, then. Here we fucking are. Committing a closure of 2016.

It’s the dawn of 2017. Blinded by the cold light of January, we’re standing on the threshold of what may turn out to be a mighty tower or just another deadly cliff in the fog. Halfway ignorant of what lies ahead, though parts of the path are visible, it feels safer to turn around and behold what is left behind.

One would think you guys were fed up with lists by now, but you’re an enduring pack of bloodthirsty wolves, and if it’s any consolation, the traditional list-mania is nearing its demise. Is this the grand finale, perhaps? I initially wrote that “my list is too long to comment on everything without cutting it into fitting slices, which I will consider doing next year”. This just proves what a naive schmuck I am. Obviously, I couldn’t help myself, and walked straight into the “comment everything” trap regardless of strategy and determination, and I eventually had to send the first part to Islander before we hit April, or something.

Let’s start with a bunch of “good, but not entirely superb” albums. They might be better than traditional “honorable mentions”, but placing them in a particular order based on all those subjective (and partially objective) factors is a seemingly hopeless task. Thus we abide by the alphabet for now, and I’m stealing Andy’s way of linking you to Bandcamp (where possible) or other sources of sound. Continue reading »

Jan 062017
 

 

For the third year in a row we invited Semjaza, the main man behind the superb Greek black metal band Thy Darkened Shade, to share with us his lists of favorite releases, and he again agreed. 

This year, we’ve divided his year-end thoughts into four parts, and this is the fourth, which follows his introductory essay and a list of the 11 2016 albums he listened to the most (here), an additional list (here) of 14 albums that also received a lot of his attention, and an additional group of albums by bands from his home country, favorite 2016 EPs, and more (here). Part 4 consists of: Continue reading »

Jan 052017
 

 

(This is the third and final 2016 year-end list prepared by our friend Vonlughlio, which compiles favorite extreme metal albums in genres other than Brutal Death Metal — which was exclusively the subject of Part 2 of his lists yesterday.)

As I explained in my previous list of favorite BDM albums, this year I wanted to separate that genre from the others since it’s my favorite. In this list are the albums by bands from other extreme metal genres that I liked the most.

And here it goes: Continue reading »