Top Albums 2012

[SBfreak]

Hi there.

This year is almost over and probably like most of you I've listened to a lot of music.
In my case mostly metal,so here is my top 10 2012 metal album list in no order what so ever.

• Royal Thunder -CVI (heavy metal,stoner metal) [bandcamp]
• Ancestors - In Dreams And Time (doom metal, stoner metal) [myspace]
• Saturnus - Saturn In Ascension (gothic doom metal) [myspace]
• Enslaved - RIITIIR (progressive black metal) [myspace]
• Bound By Entrails - The Stars Bode You Farewell (atmospheric black metal, symphonic black metal) [bandcamp]
• Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone (melodic death metal) [myspace]
• Saturnian - Dimensions (symphonic black metal) [facebook]
• Igorrr - Hallelujah (cybergrind,experimental breakcore,modern classical) [bandcamp]
• Skyharbor - Blinding White Noise: Illusion & Chaos (progressive metal, math metal) [facebook]
• Incoming Cerebral Overdrive - Le Stelle: A Voyage Adrift (avantgarde sludge metal) [bandcamp]

Honorable mentions and EPs:

• Minority Sound - The Explorer (electronic industrial metal) [myspace]
• Agalloch - Faustian Echoes [EP] (atmospheric black metal, neofolk) [bandcamp]
• Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I (extreme progressive metal) [myspace]
• Neurotech - Decipher Vol. 1 [EP] (industrial metal, melodic death metal) [bandcamp]

My initial list had like 30 items on it,I may modify it in the near future.
I'm also interested in hearing what you like so please if you have time your top artists/albums,etc.

[slikrapid]

so i had some time to go through your list, decided to include some impressions and ratings (0-10)
note: the ratings are based on a one-time listening (ok, ok, with some skimming & repeating too )


(5-6) Royal Thunder -CVI (southern/psychedelic rock)
recommended song: No Good

(8-9) Ancestors - In Dreams And Time
great for patient listeners
weak song: Running In Circles
recommended song: On The Wind

(7) Saturnus - Saturn In Ascension (doom metal)
the spoken passages are used way too often, too monotonous & overlong
weak songs: A Lonely Passage, Call Of The Raven Moon
recommended song: A Fathers Providence

(8-9) Enslaved - RIITIIR (progressive black metal)
simple/effective/interesting
weak songs: RIITIIR, Forsaken
recommended song: Death in the Eyes of Dawn

(6-7) Bound By Entrails - The Stars Bode You Farewell (progressive black metal)
too progressive/dissonant/crammed for their own good, mostly good atmosphere on slower parts
out-of-place songs: Essence of Vagrance, Bemoaning the Lamented
recommended song: Swan Song

(7-8) Be'lakor - Of Breath And Bone
good stuff, maybe too uniform/simplistic
weak song: To Stir The Sea

(6) Dissona - Dissona (progressive metal/melodic death)
confused mixture of ideas, feels too forced
recommended song: Inverted Swarm

(3-4) Anhedonist - Netherwards

(6) Skyharbor - Blinding White Noise: Illusion & Chaos (progressive metalcore, djent)
the 'chaos' part doesn't work with the rest and the rest needs polishing (like much of the dragging vocals)
recommended song: Maeva

(3-5) Incoming Cerebral Overdrive - Le Stelle: A Voyage Adrift (hardcore)

Honorable mentions and EPs:

(6-7) Minority Sound - The Explorer (electronic industrial metal aka cyber metal)
catchy stuff, could use some diversity
recommended song: Load Of Destruction

(5) Agalloch - Faustian Echoes [EP]

(7-8) Ne Obliviscaris - Portal Of I
good, but overlong & overindulgent songs, it gets better after the first 3 songs in terms of excessive aggression
recommended song: Forget Not

(8) Neurotech - Decipher Vol. 1 [EP] (cyber metal)
very enjoyable cyber metal, vol.2 is decent too, less aggressive (more dance/trance oriented)
recommended song: Home
recommended song (from Vol.2 EP): Unconditional
recommended song (from Blue Screen Planet EP): both
recommended song (from Antagonist album): Inject Me Now
reco...just kiddin'

Spoiler ratings overview::

0 not reviewed
1 abysmal
2 very bad
3 bad
4 below average
5 average
6 above average
7 good
8 very good
9 great
10 excellent

[Snitlev]

My Top Album are:

>Kamelot-Silverthorn

>Accept-Stalingrad

>Paradox-Tales Of The Weird

>Red Lamb-Red Lamb

>Therion-Les Fleurs Du Mal

>Machine Head-Machine F***ing Head

>Postmortem-Bloodground Messiah

and my favotite:

>Destruction-Spiritual Genocide

That's enough

regards

[slikrapid]

so, i'll be brazen once again and include some impressions & ratings (all imo, as usual) regarding Snitlev's list
this one will be shorter (didn't spend as much time listening when the material wasn't satisfactory), the genres have been added too

(4-5) Kamelot - Silverthorn (symphonic power metal)
using a Khan sound-alike (who supposedly normally doesn't even sing like that...didn't bother to check it out though) is a ball-less move, the music can be generally described as a too sugary/sterile repetition of previous albums and it features some weird/laughable parts (fi. children singing at the end of track 2)

(9) Accept - Stalingrad (heavy metal)
great stuff, however it suffers from occasional lifeless/lazy/generic parts that somewhat taint the overall experience
weak song: Galley (though it has a strong instrumental part in the middle)
recommended songs: Hung, Drawn And Quartered; Shadow Soldiers

(6) Paradox - Tales Of The Weird (thrash/power metal)
decent thrash/power that still didn't manage to keep my attention for very long

(3) Red Lamb - Red Lamb (hard rock/metal)
hopefully Dan Spitz makes better watches than his current music efforts (Anthrax period excluded)

(7) Therion - Les Fleurs Du Mal (symphonic metal)
interesting concept, too lacking/generic execution
recommended songs: Une Fleur Dans Le Coeur, Initials B.B, Dis-moi poupée

(6) Machine Head - Machine F***ing Head (live album) (post thrash metal)
decent show, good sound

(4-5) Postmortem - Bloodground Messiah (death/thrash metal)
didn't listen all the way through, sounded pretty uninspired

(5-6) Destruction - Spiritual Genocide (thrash metal)
as far as i'm concerned this is pretty much generic/formulaic thrash, got old really fast, but then again i'm not the usual thrash metal listener

[slikrapid]

top album = the most entertaining/satisfactory release (as a whole) from a genre
well, according to the above, these are arguably 'the top albums' i managed to find in 2012:


non-metal:

(10) Aura Noctis - Itineris I (2011) (darkwave)
this one is from 2011 (scene-released in 2012), but i'll make an exception for an exceptionally well done album, for patient listeners only
recommended songs: D.E.S., Furor Et Luctus, Erste Reise
scene rls name: Aura_Noctis-Itineris_I-2011-AMOK


metal:

(9-10) Vesperian Sorrow - Stormwinds Of Ages (2012) (symphonic black metal)
with a menacing, fast, tightly packed, keyboard-laden sound it pretty much overwhelms the sonicscape, demanding more space to unfold than your feeble speakers can offer
recommended songs: Stormwinds of Ages, An Empire to Mourn, Legacies Befallen
why not (10): 2nd half can't keep up with the 1st one
scene rls name: -

(10) Aeternam - Moongod (2012) (oriental symphonic/melodic death metal)
still as good as on their previous album, good balance between melody & brutality, highly recommended
recommended songs: Moongod, Iram Of The Pillars, Descent Of Gods
scene rls name: Aeternam-Moongod-2012-UTP

(10) Words Of Farewell - Immersion (2012) (melodic death metal)
great stuff, notice how they like to use a small part of Meshuggah-like riffs just as a tease and then continue with melodeath as if nothing happened, nice touch there
recommended songs: Project: Daybreak, End Of Transmission, On Second Thought
scene rls name: Words_Of_Farewell-Immersion-2012-FiH

(10) Barren Earth - The Devils Resolve (2012) (death/doom metal)
sounds quite similar to Amorphis, melancholic, dark & doomy, very enjoyable
recommended songs: Passing Of The Crimson Shadows, The Rains Begin, Oriental Pyre
scene rls name: Barren_Earth-The_Devils_Resolve-2012-r35

(10) Evenoire - Vitriol (2012) (gothic/folk metal)
female-fronted gothic awesomeness with a tasteful touch of folkish melodies
recommended songs: Days Of The Blackbird, Misleading Paradise, Wise King
scene rls name: Evenoire-Vitriol-2012-RTB

(9-10) Reinxeed - Welcome to the Theater (2012) (symphonic melodic power metal)
very good power getting elevated to the next level by famous/familiar soundtrack-like symphonics
recommended songs: Life Will Find a Way, Follow Me, Freedom
why not (10): could use some more diversity
scene rls name: Reinxeed-Welcome_to_the_Theater-2012-GRAVEWISH


note: for a more comprehensive list (including honorable mentions) check out the 2012 'retrospective' thread coming up in a few days

[SBfreak]

Am I the only one listening to Igorrr's new album like a nutjob ? Added it to my list.

[slikrapid]

Am I the only one listening to Igorrr's new album like a nutjob ?

you like to torture (yourself) with experimental stuff?

anyways, listened to most of the album and didn't find it particularly enjoyable (similar to most of the weird/experimental/avant-garde stuff out there), the effects/samples/drums were mostly annoying, the operatic stuff random, the black metal elements sub-par, the jazzy parts average, (some of) the male vocals patton-wannabes, the hardcore elements were nothing special, maybe the best executed things on the album would include the acoustic guitars or 'the drunken folk & chicken soup' - all in all, mostly random stuff glued together without much repeat value, the album rating might range from (4-6), recommended songs: Cicadidae, Vegetable Soup

some other examples of (good) metal weirdness:

Dornenreich - Schwarz schaut tiefster Lichterglanz



Sigh - A Sunset Song



UneXpect - Unfed Pendulum

[SBfreak]

you like to torture (yourself) with experimental stuff?

I'm a sucker for experimental and avant garde stuff.
I remember the first time I listened to Unexpect.