“Thank you for coming to my show
Hope you enjoyed the sorrow
And if your world does not seem bright
Just stare into my darkened sky.”
— Byzantine (“Jerimiad” off “And They Shall Take Up Serpents”)
I get a kick every year when I attempt to put together some sort of year in review. Without fail, at some point someone will say something to me like, “What a shitty year. Nothing good came out,” or “I’d have a hard enough time coming up with three great albums,” or even “how about a year’s worst instead.”
People, we love music. I love music … and I’m a pretty picky person. But when I really sit down and think about it, I can easily come up with a couple of handfuls of discs I picked up over the year that I found noteworthy. More times than not I can come up with at least 10 that I found fantastic. I’ve been putting lists like this together year after year since 1990, and retroactively after that too (mostly for a friend or two who wanted my opinions).
This year wasn’t too tough. I had a sizable list, but unfortunately, as of late I haven’t really been able to pick up new albums (for personal reasons). Thus, I feel like a missed a bunch of good stuff. Regardless, I came up with more than enough albums to pick and choose and “Best of” list from … that has to be a sign that it was a good year in the music industry. I tried very hard to cull this list down to a top 10 with some notable mentions and still left off great releases from band’s I love like Fear Factory, From Autumn to Ashes and Children of Bodom. While the top albums were never doubted, the rest of this list was carefully scrutinized.
In a surprise move, I was forced to declare a three-way tie for album of the year, something I feel totally comfortable doing as each of the three was simply a phenomenal album that I listened to ad nauseum throughout 2005.
So, without further ado …
1a.Nightrage
“Descent into Chaos”
(Century Media Records)
This was one of those albums that snuck up on me throughout the year. I was anticipating the disc to some degree, but wasn’t prepared for just how amazing the album would turn out to be. A sick mix of metal and death metal, the riffs are epic, the drumming is relentless and the vocals are scary and intense as hell.
From my review of the album: “The disc, the band’s second offering, explodes out the gate with ‘Being Nothing,’ complete with machine-gun drumming and Tomas Lindberg’s comfortable growl. Gus G. and Iliopoulos run rings around each other with each riff, making even the simplest structures seem like epics.
From the opening notes the band sounds tight-as-hell and never lets up. From the choking riffs of “Phantasma” or the intricate guitar-play in “Drug,” to the old-school metal feel of “Poems,” there isn’t a weak link in this set. Even the haunting instrumental “Solus” swings from beauty to brutality in its short couple of minutes.”
Nightrage definitely put out a masterpiece this year. I hope it wasn’t a swansong as Lindberg has since left the band which is already in the writing and recording process with a new lead singer — but we’ll leave that in the future. As for the present: With each subsequent listen I am convinced more and more this may be one of the strongest releases of the year.
1b.Trivium
“Ascendancy”
(Roadrunner Records)
Trivium’s major-label debut is one hell of a straight-ahead, blugeoning metal release. With a sound akin to Shadows Fall or label-mates Killswitch Engage, “Ascendancy” is right on the level of each band’s previous release.
From my review of the album: “The album is probably one of the best (pure) metal releases to hit shelves in a while (possibly since Lamb of God’s release last summer).
The one-two attack of dueling guitar from lead vocalist Matt Heafy and guitarist Corey Beaulieu is one of the album’s higlights, and the two seemed pretty eager to stick as much heavy riff-age and hard-hitting solos as they could into each song.”
When looking for a candidate for album of the year, you’d look for an album that’s solid from end to end. “Ascendancy” is simply devoid of a weak song — from “End of Everything” to “Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation” to the more experimental “Dying in Your Arms” and everything inbetween, Trivium has crafted a modern-day classic and the band is well on it’s way to be a cornerstone in the new metal movement.
1c.Crowbar
“Lifesblood for the Downtrodden”
(Candlelight Records)
I was never a huge Crowbar fan, but this album won me over big time. The sludgy mix of riffs and subtle melody is the perfect mix of metal that sounds brand new yet completely classic all at once. Once again, I’m hardpressed to point to one weak track on the album.
From my review of the album: “You don’t need new, or experimental, or groundbreaking … you just need the comfortable grind of old fashioned metal. …
Every track on here is uncompromisingly heavy, each explored and expanded to fullness. While prior Crowbar releases tended to bleed together, “Lifesblood” is full of tempo-changes and melodic breaks. The band explodes out of the gate on a track like “Dead Sun,” but can do a 180 and slow everything down for the chorus without losing the “metal” and atmosphere of dread.”
There’s a ton of great music on here, including “Fall Back to Zero” and “Coming Down.” This is one album that flew under the radar all year and deserved a lot more recognition. Do yourself a favor and go pick it up …
4.Brand New Sin
“Recipe for Disaster”
(Century Media Records)
Brand new Sin’s latest is chock-full of full-blown southern metal (think Black Label Society with a better kick). The band has perfected a solid, old-school feel infused with a modern sesnsibility. From the lead-off single “Black and Blue” to “Arrived” and “Freight Train,” the band strings rocking metal track after rocking metal track with very few weak links. In fact, the only real problem with the album is the lyrics, which border on the mundane at times.
“Recipe for Disaster” is sure to put a smile on any metal fan’s face.
5.Biohazard
“Means to and End”
(SPV Records)
Biohazard returned to its roots on this sick, bludgeoning release. The album was once rumored to be the band’s final offering, and I couldn’t think of a better note to go out on. A band that I’ve been listening to since its inception in the late-eighties, Biohazard has experimented with its sound over the years … and with almost a dozen albums under its belt, this one ranks right up there at the top of the list.
I haven’t had a chance to listen to this album nearly enough, but I know that with each spin before the year ends I find more and more to love about it.
6.Obituary
“Frozen in Time”
(Roadrunner Records)
Maybe not a raw masterpiece like “Cause of Death,” or a death metal leviathan like “The End Complete,” this is still a perfect Obituary album. Heavy, unforgiving riffs, sick drumming and an overwhelming sense of foreboding.
Obituary proved it was back with a vengence, returning from the dead (pardon the cliche) to show it could still be as relevant in the new millenium as any other band on the metal scene. Unlike its contemporaries (like Napalm Death or Cannibal Corpse), Obituary can put out a little same ol’ same ol’ and still craft a metal masterpiece.
“Frozen in Time” was a perfect reintroduction to the band and I shudder to think of what could come next …
7.The Project Hate
“Armageddon March Eternal”
(Threeman Recordings)
This one is definitely an album that you’d have to track down, but one that any metal fan would be glad to have in their collection.
From my review of the album: “The group is a brutal mix of European death metal in the vein of Dimmu Borgir only much tighter and more advanced from a music (and talent) standpoint. All this brutality is tempered with delicate (albeit operatic) female vocals. … The music is much more complex and the band deserves to break moreso than the similar-sounding Nightwish.
There’s a hint of industrial grind; there’s the epic feel permeating each track; the European groove oozes out of each minute of the disc; the death metal vocals are clean enough to actually mean something. In fact, I applaud the vocal work on both ends of the vocal spectrum as it all sounds clean and it’s clear a lot of work went into the recording process.”
I’ve seen this album pop up on a couple of “best of” lists this year (even right here on Inside Pulse), and it’s well-deserved praise for one of the better independent metal bands out there.
8.Mudvayne
“Lost and Found”
(Epic Records)
It looks like Mudvayne finally has a set direction, foregoing the experimentation and set dresssing (read: image) for an actual tight, metal release. “Lost and Found” has all the different elements that were good from the band’s previous albums rolled into one.
From my review of the album: “‘Lost and Found’ pulls in the best elements from the band’s entire career and strings them together as a metal masterpiece. There’s the tempo-changes, but they make more sense now and come across as less experimental. The vocals drift from the growls seething anger to the melodic delivery Chad Gray is more than capable of pulling off. The groove from the band’s debut EP is utilized. Truthfully, this album is the culmination of all the band’s previous work.”
For me, this really was a runner-up for album of the year … if not for all the other great stuff that came out. Each listen revealed another layer and almost presented each track in an even more brutal light. I really like what Mudvayne has become. You could see the glimpses in past releases, but even those grew tired in places at times. Add “Lost and Found” to the list of end-to-end killers this year.
9.Open Hand
“You & Me”
(Trustkill Records)
One of my most anticipated albums of 2005, nothing disappointed me about Open Hand’s latest release. The band blurred and bended genres from track to track. Sadly, as the year moved on, I started to listen to the disc less and less … not due to content, but plain old lack of time.
From my review of the album: “‘You and Me’ is a change of pace for the band that, at one time, drew strong comparisons to bands in the vein of older Sunny Day Real Estate or, perhaps, later Jawbreaker material (think initial “emo” movement for lack of a better term). On this new release, Open Hand takes that original sound and mixes in some stoner rock, alternative metal and punk — think Queens of the Stone Age and CKY meets the Foo Fighters and Thursday, with the most ethereal vocals to grace speakers in some time.”
Open Hand is one of those bands that not too many people know about … and if they disappeared you might never notice. But to have actually heard the band and become a fan, I can’t imagine not having this album (or the group’s first for that matter) in my collection. Do yourself a favor and check the group out, you won’t be sorry.
10.Dane Cook
“Retaliation”
(Comedy Central Records)
Here’s my little curveball for the year …
Dane Cook put out one hell of a comedy album this year, a double disc (with a bonus DVD thrown in for good measure) — two completely different sets of material chock-full of laughs.
From the humorous stories and bitting jokes, to the nods to past jokes and plenty of pop culture references, Cook put out one of the best comedy albums in many years (probably since Dennis Leary’s “Lock and Load”). Unlike Leary’s album that also featured musical interludes or skits, Cook’s album(s) are wall to wall jokes.
While I normally wouldn’t include a disc like this on my year-end best-of list, I was compelled to simply because since picking the discs up, not a week has gone by that I haven’t listened to it.
It was near impossible for me to narrow down my list to a top 10. I totally forgot about one of my all-time favorites this year, Byzantine’s “And They Shall Take Up Serpents,” a killer, tech-metal disc from end to end. There’s really no reason it isn’t listed up there at the top with Crowbar, Trivium and Nightrage.
I really wanted to stick the Black Label Society disc on here. Ektomorf also had a killer release, “Instinct,” which featured a tuned-down Soulfly feel.
In the hardcore department, Bury Your Dead had a pretty good disc out. And the Esoteric showed a lot of promise though, overall, the release was just too unfocused to be a solid release.
Surprisingly, Avenged Sevenfold’s latest, “City of Evil,” eventually grew on me. I hated the “new direction” the band decided to take, but finally “got it” a couple of months after the release. Ironically, it was after listening to a W.A.S.P. greatest hits album that I realized the band was almost doing a throwback to older metal bands with a new feel.
I loved the first disc’s of Foo Fighter’s “In Your Honor,” but the second disc was just too mellow and unfocused.
Lastly, in a more melodic vein, Nickel Creek continued to show why it’s one of the best bands out there today with “Why Should the Fire Die,” an awesome mix of bluegrass and pop with a folk twist.
Reissue of the year: The Burn the Priest re-release was the perfect glimpse into Lamb of God’s past …
Compilation of the year: Motley Crue’s “Red White and Crue,” a perfect way to remember what made the band so great …
Song of the year: Black Label Society’s cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “I Never Dreamed.” Simply amazing … Runner up: Killswitch engage’s re-recorded “Irreversal.”
Soundtrack of the year: Rob Zombie’s compilation of 70’s classics for “The Devil’s Rejects.”
So there you have it, faithful Inside Pulse readers, my picks for top albums of the year. Sure, my top 10 consisted almost exclusively of metal bands, but what did you expect. Year after year, I continue to be excited by the music I listen to, new bands and returning favorites, and 2006 looks to be no different … but that’s a column for another time. Remember, you’re probably here because you love music … sitting there glumly complaining that “nothing good came out this year” year after year will do you no good. There’s great music to be found, new or old, if you take the time to talk to people, read around and seek things out. Don’t close yourself off from exciting possibilities just to seem elitist or “genre specific.” Hell, I’m a metal head through and through but I get a kick out of plenty of other stuff these days, too.
And that’s that. As always, drop me a line. Until next time, I’ll be here at Inside Pulse making sure no metal news falls through the cracks.
Take it easy…
