(Here’s the fifth and final installment of NCS writer Andy Synn’s look back at the year in metal.  In this post he lists his personal favorites of 2013.  Previously this week he provided his lists of the “Critical Top 10”, and the year’s“Great”, “Good”, and “Disappointing” albums.)

This one’s marginally easier than the Critical Top Ten. It’s less informed by discussions with others and much more about going with my gut. These are the ten albums that I’ve simply been unable to put down this year.

Honourable mentions go to:

Antestor– Omen
Progenie Terrestre Pura – U.M.A.
Persefone – Spiritual Migration
Lightning Swords of Death – Baphometic Chaosium
Suffocation – Pinnacle of Bedlam

…who all almost scraped in, but ultimately the rule of 10 is a harsh and unforgiving mistress, and she brooks no excuses or equivocation.

So… here are the ten albums that have been closest to my heart this year. They might be flawed, or they might be near-perfect, but in the end that doesn’t matter, because I love them all. 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 »

(So far this week, NCS writer Andy Synn has provided his lists of 2013’s “Great” and “Good” albums, and now he identifies seven that disappointed him.)

And now, in many ways, the big one. The one guaranteed to cause more controversy, flame-wars, and outright despair than both the others combined.

The thing to bear in mind is a) this is just my opinion, as a (so-called) critic, and as a major fan of metal music, and b) just because they’re disappointing doesn’t necessarily make them terrible. After all, we tend not to even bother with the bad albums here at NCS. It just means that something was missing – something significant enough to leave each of the albums here with a bitter aftertaste of what could, or should, have been.

This is probably the most negative we get here at the site, but I think, as the year draws to a close, it’s important to have at least one entry like this to try and establish some balance and some context for what we’ve been listening to over the past twelve months.

Now… prepare yourselves… I present to you – alphabetically – the seven albums which most disappointed me this year. Continue reading »