My favorite albums of 2013 (and 2012, and 2011)
It's rare for me to compile my end-of-year music list before the end of the subsequent January (or, in recent years, at all). For whatever reason, I managed to crank this one out quickly. So, here is a rundown of what I enjoyed most in 2013, followed by quick glimpses at the past couple of years. After stupidly losing a good deal of previous writing about 2012 and 2011, a mere list is all I can muster, but the accompanying links all go to reviews that pretty much mirror my opinion.
As always, a disclaimer: yes, I ranked these, but in no way does that ranking signify that any of these are better than another. It's just a snapshot of how personally gratifying they were to me upon release, and in a decade, this list might look completely different. People who call their year-end summary listicles "the best of" Year X are lying to you. They have not heard everything, so any claim that they have found the best is ridiculous. For me, these are simply favorites, and I hope you get a chance to hear them all someday. Happy 2014!
2013
1. Amorphis, Circle (Nuclear Blast)
I am a sucker for those rare cases when performers make a perfect album decades into their career, as this not only engenders a contemporary set of classics but ultimately rewards and validates fans' loyalty like nothing else can. Finnish legends Amorphis have been on a very positive path since 2009's excellent Skyforger, their signature sound continuing to draw from European death metal, Finnish folk, gothic, progressive, psychedelic and classic rock. Here, the sextet has truly recaptured the energy, lyricism, emotions and textures of their essential work in a modern context, with none of the chaff that can dilute their winning formula (and a rare shift in lyrical focus to boot). By emphasizing and refreshing the boundary-smashing sense of adventure that, once upon a time, only Amorphis could bring to metal, Circle is more than a venerated veteran act living up to its potential, it is a vital creative force confidently outclassing their hybrid-happy acolytes.
2. Man Man, On Oni Pond (Anti)
Maturity is a filthy word in rock n' roll, especially in the type of no-rules clatter which thrives on youthful exuberance. So, it is with astonishment that we witness the continuing evolution of Philadelphia experimentalists Man Man, who sound more like a "normal" band than ever before. Anarchy reigns in their passionately vivid words and messy, laid-bare emotions rather than in freewheeling kitchen-sink arrangements, the wild-eyed screeches and plonks now cleanly Ziplocked into tidy single-serving packets of color-soaked bliss, capably fighting back the darkness lurking in Man Man's music. Pervasive gloom is constantly referenced, but adversity does not portend apocalypse thanks to self-help slogans ("If you won't reinvent yourself/You can't circumvent your hell," "Hold on to your heart/Never let nobody drag it under") born not from naïve optimism but from the sort of self-preservation tactics grownups have learned to get by on.
3. Run the Jewels, Run the Jewels (self-released)
Since every music writer on the Internet has already pithily compared this free download with Watch the Throne, I will simply note that hip-hop team-ups are as old as the Sugarhill Gang, and therefore collaborative albums really must offer something unique to make an impression, no matter who else recently did one. Across their respective 2012 albums, indie electro-rap pioneer El-P and aggravated Atlantan heavyweight Killer Mike proved to be a masterful if unlikely duo, so this "victory lap," as it's not inaccurately been called, was inevitable. Despite that, Run the Jewels has a permanence, an exactness of intent that belies its brief turnaround and running time, as Mike's booming Ice-Cube-of-the-South confidence squeezes around and thaws El's icy computer funk beats and tightly coiled flow, prodding each other to turn broody, bitchy, brainy and brash in equally devastating measures.
4. Vreid, Welcome Farewell (Indie)
Norway's Vreid continue to define Eurometal excellence with their sixth album, generally holding back the prettier, proggier aspects of 2011's powerful V but never simplifying their uniquely effective blend of black, thrash and traditional metals. Vreid's attention to variety and texture never impacts the momentum of their compositions, rather enriching them with metallic flavors that inherently pump blood directly to the neck muscles. Here they enrich a commanding, organic rhythmic foundation with perfectly placed guitar leads which wind nimbly and inexorably through the ferocious fray, as clear and sober as a river bisecting a wartorn countryside. Sure, combining metal styles can be (and has been) done thousands of ways, but with a punky gallop here, a bracing folkish melody there and a sinister groove everywhere, these guys remain among the very best doing it today.
5. Carcass, Surgical Steel (Nuclear Blast)
It happens all the time: a long-disbanded act, who famously went out with an indecisive whimper and disbursed in dissimilar directions, regroups for reunion show paychecks and discovers that they actually like playing that old music again. However, no one expected the Carcass comeback to be more than your typical nostalgia trip, and the thought of a new album that sat comfortably among their influential '90s classics was so ludicrous that no one saw it coming. Thus, the impact of Surgical Steel might seem greater due to the surprise of a commanding set of irreverent death metal riddled with memorable guitar hooks, diverse cadences and spitefully rasped, socially relevant lyrics. But after the "best of Carcass" feel wears off, there remains a fierce, engaging, invigorating melodic death metal album, delivered at a time when the form is so dusty and diluted that it seems only the singular voice of an iconoclastic founder can refresh it.
6. Big K.R.I.T., King Remembered in Time (self-released)
Producer/rapper Big K.R.I.T. has treated all of his mixtapes like regular albums, and his first release after last year's Def Jam debut bears his unmistakable Mississippian fingerprints while sounding more cohesive than usual. The overall vibe here is best exemplified by the title of the track "Meditate," with the ever-introspective MC examining himself and his relationships while luxuriating in soul vocals and silky-smooth tones, sometimes peeking away from R&B toward a celestial sci-fi atmosphere. K.R.I.T. sprinkles a few uptempo tracks as crucial energy shots throughout, but there is nothing here that would easily translate to rote club fare, and while his copious odes to girls or car stereos never seem forced, his sincerity is always more convincing than his swagger. Even as he waxes dramatically messianic or romantically pragmatic, the intimacy and realness of K.R.I.T.'s vision prevails.
7. 65daysofstatic, Wild Light (Superball)
After 2010's excellent We Were Exploding Anyway, 65daysofstatic seemed poised to shatter the shackles of post-rock by focusing on forms of electronic music more identifiably intended for dancing. While the well-named Wild Light definitely sounds far more electronic than their early work, the British quartet distill their original vision by approaching the material here purely as electronic post-rock, foregoing guest vocalists, crass club beats and other pop universe adornments without sacrificing listener engagement. A symphony of sci-fi synths expertly pulses around skittering drums, sonorous guitar swells and craftily-placed piano respites, exploding and imploding its textures at precise intervals. Having clearly mastered dynamic pacing and the delicate discharge of energy, 65daysofstatic has simply never been better, bringing emotional diversity to a potentially monochromatic sound with a consistently, profoundly well-rounded album, all without needing to utter a word.
8. Týr, Valkyrja (Metal Blade)
Riff after riff, Valkyrja continues the incredible streak that these Faroese giants began a few years back, when vocalist/guitarist Heri Joensen switched focus from idiosyncratic prog/folk/doom to a simpler but more vivacious brand of traditional metal. On its surface, this is the weakest of Týr's post-Land trilogy, containing such unprecedented trappings as an occasional sex lyric and a ballad-style duet with a guest lady singer ("The Lay of Our Love," a genuinely pretty song that's almost ruined by the ever-thin whimper of former labelmate Liv Kristine). However, these things make more sense in the context of the album's concept: feminine power, in folklore and otherwise. And while this theme is more routine than the fascinating Arab Spring/Occupy overtones of 2011's superior The Lay of Thrym, it fits naturally for a heathen band, even one built around the dudely trappings of relentless electric guitar refrains, restlessly mutating rhythms and goosebump-raising male vocal harmonies. Týr can still do no wrong, as Valkyrja's dramatic detours hurtle by in a gloriously gleaming blur, inviting endless replays like very few albums this epic ever do.
9. They Might Be Giants, Nanobots (Idlewild/Megaforce)
Although I honestly believe that it could be enjoyed just as much on shuffle than in its intended order, which still feels arbitrary despite TMBG's claims of deliberateness, Nanobots capably reminded me that my favorite music has always been the kind I grow to enjoy, even from a band that I have loved for decades. Following 2011's Join Us, a return to form packed with brief, oddly brilliant earworms, my favorite non-metal band's headier 16th album was tougher to digest. Most of these tunes are sparser or less immediate in impact, while the overall flow is seriously upended by a sprinkling of song-ish snippets (similar to Apollo 18's "Fingertips" tracks, but placed in what feel like random spots throughout the album rather than tidily sequenced together). Of course, just like in the '90s, when I owned fewer albums and therefore listened to everything I owned dozens of times, I eventually found that the most abstract, draggy and repetitive songs here each conceal cool rhythmic embellishments or other twisty little charms that expand with familiarity. Ultimately, there is nothing I dislike on it – which I can't say for Join Us, even if I like that better overall.
10. Gorguts, Colored Sands (Season of Mist)
Upon catching a random pre-release track on a podcast, I was instantly drawn to Gorguts' universally lauded comeback, well before I realized it was the work of long-dormant Canadian tech-death royalty. The players here, aside from founding guitarist Luc Lemay, are all in other established outfits (Krallice, Dysrhythmia, Origin), and I do think the participation of younger Americans with varying degrees of hipster cred affected the overall sound for the better. These songs retain the skronky menace and percussive hypertwists of '90s Gorguts favorites, but where, say, Obscura has always felt a bit cold and unapproachable to me, the dissonant undulations of Colored Sands simmer with eerie humidity, a sumptuously oppressive atmosphere more akin to post-metal than the mechanical bludgeoning of your typical brutal death metal or the fussy sterility of your typical prog. Flawless performances beget vibrant elegance, while Tibetan Buddhism-influenced lyrics and a mid-album cello break nudge it toward the spiritually sublime.
15 Honorable Mentions for 2013
Arcade Fire, Reflektor (Merge)
Bad Religion, True North (Epitaph)
Cult of Luna, Vertikal (Indie)
Deltron 3030, Event 2 (Bulk)
Eels, Wonderful, Glorious (Vagrant)
Finntroll, Blodsvept (Century Media)
Helloween, Straight Out of Hell (Sony)
Hypocrisy, End of Disclosure (Nuclear Blast)
Nine Inch Nails, Hesitation Marks (The Null Corporation/Columbia)
October Tide, Tunnel of No Light (Pulverised)
Rotting Christ, Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού (Season of Mist)
Suffocation, Pinnacle of Bedlam (Nuclear Blast)
The Tossers, The Emerald City (Victory)
VHÖL, VHÖL (Profound Lore)
Watain, The Wild Hunt (Century Media)
2012
1. Sigh, Insomniphobia (Candlelight)
2. Katatonia, Dead End Kings (Peaceville)
3. Woods of Ypres, Woods 5: Grey Skies and Electric Lights (Earache)
4. Killer Mike, R.A.P. Music (Williams Street)
5. Enslaved, RIITIIR (Nuclear Blast)
6. Anathema, Weather Systems (Kscope)
7. Bloc Party, Four (Frenchkiss)
8. Alcest, Les voyages de l'âme (Prophecy)
9. Barren Earth, The Devil's Resolve (Peaceville)
10. Master's Hammer, Vracejte konve na místo (self-released)
15 Honorable Mentions for 2012
Aaron Freeman, Marvelous Clouds (Partisan)
Aesop Rock, Skelethon (Rhymesayers)
Animal Collective, Centipede Hz (Domino)
AtomA, Skylight (Napalm)
Big Boi, Vicious Lies and Desperate Rumors (Purple Ribbon/Def Jam)
Big K.R.I.T., 4eva N a Day (self-released)
Gojira, L'Enfant Sauvage (Roadrunner)
Heems, Nehru Jackets (self-released)
High on Fire, De Vermis Mysteriis (E1)
Menomena, Moms (Barsuk)
My Dying Bride, A Map of All Our Failures (Peaceville)
Nachtmystium, Silencing Machine (Century Media)
Panopticon, Kentucky (Pagan Flames)
Purity Ring, Shrines (4AD)
Vintersorg, Orkan (Napalm)
2011
1. Týr, The Lay of Thrym (Napalm)
2. Man Man, Life Fantastic (Anti)
3. They Might Be Giants, Join Us (Idlewild/Rounder)
4. Moonsorrow, Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa (Spinefarm)
5. Vreid, V (Indie)
6. Opeth, Heritage (Roadrunner)
7. Wolves in the Throne Room, Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord)
8. Parts & Labor, Constant Future (Jagjaguwar)
9. Amorphis, The Beginning of Times (Nuclear Blast)
10. Beirut, The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
A look at 2011's Honorable Mentions
And finally, following is a complete list of all the musical acts I saw performing live during 2013. The list is really small, especially since I didn't hit any festivals, but quality trumped quantity. I mean, I got to see my favorite band twice, and that doesn't happen in a bogus year.
1. Ancient VVisdom
2. Royal Thunder
3. Pallbearer
4. Enslaved
5. Jimmy Whispers
6. Advance Base
7. Parenthetical Girls
8. Ken Camden
9. Victor Villareal
10. Benoît Pioulard
11. Katatonia (x2)
12. Opeth
13. Withering Soul
14. Reign of Lies
15. Lightning Swords of Death
16. Vreid
17. Melechesh
18. Bret Michaels
19. Animal Audio
20. Disconnected
21. Divine Riot
22. Alcest
23. Anathema
24. Ancient Dreams
25. Coldsteel
26. Helloween
27. TesseracT
28. Intronaut
29. Cult of Luna
30. Secret Chiefs 3
31. Goblin
32. 65daysofstatic
33. Caspian
34. Glenwood High School Titan Fever Show Choir and Fusion Jazz
35. Alex Barnett
36. Taiga
37. Zombi
As always, a disclaimer: yes, I ranked these, but in no way does that ranking signify that any of these are better than another. It's just a snapshot of how personally gratifying they were to me upon release, and in a decade, this list might look completely different. People who call their year-end summary listicles "the best of" Year X are lying to you. They have not heard everything, so any claim that they have found the best is ridiculous. For me, these are simply favorites, and I hope you get a chance to hear them all someday. Happy 2014!
2013
1. Amorphis, Circle (Nuclear Blast)I am a sucker for those rare cases when performers make a perfect album decades into their career, as this not only engenders a contemporary set of classics but ultimately rewards and validates fans' loyalty like nothing else can. Finnish legends Amorphis have been on a very positive path since 2009's excellent Skyforger, their signature sound continuing to draw from European death metal, Finnish folk, gothic, progressive, psychedelic and classic rock. Here, the sextet has truly recaptured the energy, lyricism, emotions and textures of their essential work in a modern context, with none of the chaff that can dilute their winning formula (and a rare shift in lyrical focus to boot). By emphasizing and refreshing the boundary-smashing sense of adventure that, once upon a time, only Amorphis could bring to metal, Circle is more than a venerated veteran act living up to its potential, it is a vital creative force confidently outclassing their hybrid-happy acolytes.
"Nightbird's Song" is one of Circle's heaviest and most immediately bewitching songs, despite this banal in-studio video's attempt to undermine its dramatic intensity.
2. Man Man, On Oni Pond (Anti)Maturity is a filthy word in rock n' roll, especially in the type of no-rules clatter which thrives on youthful exuberance. So, it is with astonishment that we witness the continuing evolution of Philadelphia experimentalists Man Man, who sound more like a "normal" band than ever before. Anarchy reigns in their passionately vivid words and messy, laid-bare emotions rather than in freewheeling kitchen-sink arrangements, the wild-eyed screeches and plonks now cleanly Ziplocked into tidy single-serving packets of color-soaked bliss, capably fighting back the darkness lurking in Man Man's music. Pervasive gloom is constantly referenced, but adversity does not portend apocalypse thanks to self-help slogans ("If you won't reinvent yourself/You can't circumvent your hell," "Hold on to your heart/Never let nobody drag it under") born not from naïve optimism but from the sort of self-preservation tactics grownups have learned to get by on.
"Pink Wonton" opens things perfectly with a nervous splatter of silly/serious showmanship, before things get all heartfelt and shit.
3. Run the Jewels, Run the Jewels (self-released)Since every music writer on the Internet has already pithily compared this free download with Watch the Throne, I will simply note that hip-hop team-ups are as old as the Sugarhill Gang, and therefore collaborative albums really must offer something unique to make an impression, no matter who else recently did one. Across their respective 2012 albums, indie electro-rap pioneer El-P and aggravated Atlantan heavyweight Killer Mike proved to be a masterful if unlikely duo, so this "victory lap," as it's not inaccurately been called, was inevitable. Despite that, Run the Jewels has a permanence, an exactness of intent that belies its brief turnaround and running time, as Mike's booming Ice-Cube-of-the-South confidence squeezes around and thaws El's icy computer funk beats and tightly coiled flow, prodding each other to turn broody, bitchy, brainy and brash in equally devastating measures.
"A Christmas Fucking Miracle" is an impactful closing track, lurching like a frostbitten robot as both MCs bring brilliant, breathless flows, sting after lyrical sting.
4. Vreid, Welcome Farewell (Indie)Norway's Vreid continue to define Eurometal excellence with their sixth album, generally holding back the prettier, proggier aspects of 2011's powerful V but never simplifying their uniquely effective blend of black, thrash and traditional metals. Vreid's attention to variety and texture never impacts the momentum of their compositions, rather enriching them with metallic flavors that inherently pump blood directly to the neck muscles. Here they enrich a commanding, organic rhythmic foundation with perfectly placed guitar leads which wind nimbly and inexorably through the ferocious fray, as clear and sober as a river bisecting a wartorn countryside. Sure, combining metal styles can be (and has been) done thousands of ways, but with a punky gallop here, a bracing folkish melody there and a sinister groove everywhere, these guys remain among the very best doing it today.
"Welcome Farewell" functions as a title track should, a statement of purpose that shows off the band's knack for stomping menace, thrashy remorselessness and tastefully integrated hooks.
5. Carcass, Surgical Steel (Nuclear Blast)It happens all the time: a long-disbanded act, who famously went out with an indecisive whimper and disbursed in dissimilar directions, regroups for reunion show paychecks and discovers that they actually like playing that old music again. However, no one expected the Carcass comeback to be more than your typical nostalgia trip, and the thought of a new album that sat comfortably among their influential '90s classics was so ludicrous that no one saw it coming. Thus, the impact of Surgical Steel might seem greater due to the surprise of a commanding set of irreverent death metal riddled with memorable guitar hooks, diverse cadences and spitefully rasped, socially relevant lyrics. But after the "best of Carcass" feel wears off, there remains a fierce, engaging, invigorating melodic death metal album, delivered at a time when the form is so dusty and diluted that it seems only the singular voice of an iconoclastic founder can refresh it.
"The Master Butcher's Apron" is a prime example of the eye-popping stuff Carcass came up with, busting on British colonialism while showing all the other dad metal reunions where to stick it.
6. Big K.R.I.T., King Remembered in Time (self-released)Producer/rapper Big K.R.I.T. has treated all of his mixtapes like regular albums, and his first release after last year's Def Jam debut bears his unmistakable Mississippian fingerprints while sounding more cohesive than usual. The overall vibe here is best exemplified by the title of the track "Meditate," with the ever-introspective MC examining himself and his relationships while luxuriating in soul vocals and silky-smooth tones, sometimes peeking away from R&B toward a celestial sci-fi atmosphere. K.R.I.T. sprinkles a few uptempo tracks as crucial energy shots throughout, but there is nothing here that would easily translate to rote club fare, and while his copious odes to girls or car stereos never seem forced, his sincerity is always more convincing than his swagger. Even as he waxes dramatically messianic or romantically pragmatic, the intimacy and realness of K.R.I.T.'s vision prevails.
"King Without a Crown" makes the case that this guy is as engrossing a rapper as he is a producer, and if you think he's good touting his own awesomeness, you should hear him dissect important stuff.
7. 65daysofstatic, Wild Light (Superball)After 2010's excellent We Were Exploding Anyway, 65daysofstatic seemed poised to shatter the shackles of post-rock by focusing on forms of electronic music more identifiably intended for dancing. While the well-named Wild Light definitely sounds far more electronic than their early work, the British quartet distill their original vision by approaching the material here purely as electronic post-rock, foregoing guest vocalists, crass club beats and other pop universe adornments without sacrificing listener engagement. A symphony of sci-fi synths expertly pulses around skittering drums, sonorous guitar swells and craftily-placed piano respites, exploding and imploding its textures at precise intervals. Having clearly mastered dynamic pacing and the delicate discharge of energy, 65daysofstatic has simply never been better, bringing emotional diversity to a potentially monochromatic sound with a consistently, profoundly well-rounded album, all without needing to utter a word.
"Prisms" is the type of man/machine melding I can endorse, a glowing alien transmission with just the right touch of analog heart to give it genuine warmth.
8. Týr, Valkyrja (Metal Blade)Riff after riff, Valkyrja continues the incredible streak that these Faroese giants began a few years back, when vocalist/guitarist Heri Joensen switched focus from idiosyncratic prog/folk/doom to a simpler but more vivacious brand of traditional metal. On its surface, this is the weakest of Týr's post-Land trilogy, containing such unprecedented trappings as an occasional sex lyric and a ballad-style duet with a guest lady singer ("The Lay of Our Love," a genuinely pretty song that's almost ruined by the ever-thin whimper of former labelmate Liv Kristine). However, these things make more sense in the context of the album's concept: feminine power, in folklore and otherwise. And while this theme is more routine than the fascinating Arab Spring/Occupy overtones of 2011's superior The Lay of Thrym, it fits naturally for a heathen band, even one built around the dudely trappings of relentless electric guitar refrains, restlessly mutating rhythms and goosebump-raising male vocal harmonies. Týr can still do no wrong, as Valkyrja's dramatic detours hurtle by in a gloriously gleaming blur, inviting endless replays like very few albums this epic ever do.
"Lady of the Slain" is an exemplary blast of Valkyrian triumph, from an album lousy with highfalutin' heathen horsepower.
9. They Might Be Giants, Nanobots (Idlewild/Megaforce)Although I honestly believe that it could be enjoyed just as much on shuffle than in its intended order, which still feels arbitrary despite TMBG's claims of deliberateness, Nanobots capably reminded me that my favorite music has always been the kind I grow to enjoy, even from a band that I have loved for decades. Following 2011's Join Us, a return to form packed with brief, oddly brilliant earworms, my favorite non-metal band's headier 16th album was tougher to digest. Most of these tunes are sparser or less immediate in impact, while the overall flow is seriously upended by a sprinkling of song-ish snippets (similar to Apollo 18's "Fingertips" tracks, but placed in what feel like random spots throughout the album rather than tidily sequenced together). Of course, just like in the '90s, when I owned fewer albums and therefore listened to everything I owned dozens of times, I eventually found that the most abstract, draggy and repetitive songs here each conceal cool rhythmic embellishments or other twisty little charms that expand with familiarity. Ultimately, there is nothing I dislike on it – which I can't say for Join Us, even if I like that better overall.
"Circular Karate Chop" is John Flansbugh's big power pop number on the album, and it is just weird enough to fit into the weirdo whole.
10. Gorguts, Colored Sands (Season of Mist)Upon catching a random pre-release track on a podcast, I was instantly drawn to Gorguts' universally lauded comeback, well before I realized it was the work of long-dormant Canadian tech-death royalty. The players here, aside from founding guitarist Luc Lemay, are all in other established outfits (Krallice, Dysrhythmia, Origin), and I do think the participation of younger Americans with varying degrees of hipster cred affected the overall sound for the better. These songs retain the skronky menace and percussive hypertwists of '90s Gorguts favorites, but where, say, Obscura has always felt a bit cold and unapproachable to me, the dissonant undulations of Colored Sands simmer with eerie humidity, a sumptuously oppressive atmosphere more akin to post-metal than the mechanical bludgeoning of your typical brutal death metal or the fussy sterility of your typical prog. Flawless performances beget vibrant elegance, while Tibetan Buddhism-influenced lyrics and a mid-album cello break nudge it toward the spiritually sublime.
"Forgotten Arrows" is that first track I heard, and if the first 3:40 doesn't flatten you, the conclusion most certainly will.
15 Honorable Mentions for 2013
Arcade Fire, Reflektor (Merge)
Bad Religion, True North (Epitaph)
Cult of Luna, Vertikal (Indie)
Deltron 3030, Event 2 (Bulk)
Eels, Wonderful, Glorious (Vagrant)
Finntroll, Blodsvept (Century Media)
Helloween, Straight Out of Hell (Sony)
Hypocrisy, End of Disclosure (Nuclear Blast)
Nine Inch Nails, Hesitation Marks (The Null Corporation/Columbia)
October Tide, Tunnel of No Light (Pulverised)
Rotting Christ, Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού (Season of Mist)
Suffocation, Pinnacle of Bedlam (Nuclear Blast)
The Tossers, The Emerald City (Victory)
VHÖL, VHÖL (Profound Lore)
Watain, The Wild Hunt (Century Media)
2012
1. Sigh, Insomniphobia (Candlelight)
2. Katatonia, Dead End Kings (Peaceville)
3. Woods of Ypres, Woods 5: Grey Skies and Electric Lights (Earache)
4. Killer Mike, R.A.P. Music (Williams Street)
5. Enslaved, RIITIIR (Nuclear Blast)
6. Anathema, Weather Systems (Kscope)
7. Bloc Party, Four (Frenchkiss)
8. Alcest, Les voyages de l'âme (Prophecy)
9. Barren Earth, The Devil's Resolve (Peaceville)
10. Master's Hammer, Vracejte konve na místo (self-released)
15 Honorable Mentions for 2012
Aaron Freeman, Marvelous Clouds (Partisan)
Aesop Rock, Skelethon (Rhymesayers)
Animal Collective, Centipede Hz (Domino)
AtomA, Skylight (Napalm)
Big Boi, Vicious Lies and Desperate Rumors (Purple Ribbon/Def Jam)
Big K.R.I.T., 4eva N a Day (self-released)
Gojira, L'Enfant Sauvage (Roadrunner)
Heems, Nehru Jackets (self-released)
High on Fire, De Vermis Mysteriis (E1)
Menomena, Moms (Barsuk)
My Dying Bride, A Map of All Our Failures (Peaceville)
Nachtmystium, Silencing Machine (Century Media)
Panopticon, Kentucky (Pagan Flames)
Purity Ring, Shrines (4AD)
Vintersorg, Orkan (Napalm)
2011
1. Týr, The Lay of Thrym (Napalm)
2. Man Man, Life Fantastic (Anti)
3. They Might Be Giants, Join Us (Idlewild/Rounder)
4. Moonsorrow, Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa (Spinefarm)
5. Vreid, V (Indie)
6. Opeth, Heritage (Roadrunner)
7. Wolves in the Throne Room, Celestial Lineage (Southern Lord)
8. Parts & Labor, Constant Future (Jagjaguwar)
9. Amorphis, The Beginning of Times (Nuclear Blast)
10. Beirut, The Rip Tide (Pompeii)
A look at 2011's Honorable Mentions
And finally, following is a complete list of all the musical acts I saw performing live during 2013. The list is really small, especially since I didn't hit any festivals, but quality trumped quantity. I mean, I got to see my favorite band twice, and that doesn't happen in a bogus year.
1. Ancient VVisdom
2. Royal Thunder
3. Pallbearer
4. Enslaved
5. Jimmy Whispers
6. Advance Base
7. Parenthetical Girls
8. Ken Camden
9. Victor Villareal
10. Benoît Pioulard
11. Katatonia (x2)
12. Opeth
13. Withering Soul
14. Reign of Lies
15. Lightning Swords of Death
16. Vreid
17. Melechesh
18. Bret Michaels
19. Animal Audio
20. Disconnected
21. Divine Riot
22. Alcest
23. Anathema
24. Ancient Dreams
25. Coldsteel
26. Helloween
27. TesseracT
28. Intronaut
29. Cult of Luna
30. Secret Chiefs 3
31. Goblin
32. 65daysofstatic
33. Caspian
34. Glenwood High School Titan Fever Show Choir and Fusion Jazz
35. Alex Barnett
36. Taiga
37. Zombi
posted by SoulReaper at 10:52 AM
3 comments
