Written by Slayer666 on 01.03.2012 at 14:40



I don't understand the problem, then. I voted for whom I deemed best, and that happened to concede with the general opinion (read: popular) once, with 40 Watt Sun. None of the others I voted for won, most of them didn't even make it to top 5. I simply stated that I already knew most winners even before the 1st of March.

a small misunderstanding then, nothing to get worked up about

Written by InnerSelf on 01.03.2012 at 14:54
The only result I totally resent is Falloch winning over Alrakis, Lantlos, Sleeping Peonies and An Autumn For My Crippled Children. I found it good and that's that

Written by Slayer666 on 01.03.2012 at 12:04
Seriously, the only winner I didn't see coming was Falloch (expected Alrakis or Lantlos).

Yeah, I liked Falloch but it was like "meh, I just like it" if you get the tone (the tone sounds better in real life though hahaha).
I totally thought Deafheaven was going to win. I voted for Alrakis, kind of sad they got on 7th place.

Written by IronAngel on 01.03.2012 at 11:18
I'm not bitching at you for nominating it Just analyzing the results and bashing the unwashed masses, which is what this topic is for.

You got a point there. It was late and I was going to sleep barely 5 hours so I was already getting a bit cranky. Hopefully I didn't sound too bitchy.
___

Damn, guys... I came here with the will to post a shit load of whining but now that I read some pretty awful comments... I'm totally discouraged, which is only for the best I think. Oh well... Facts are facts: Staff Picks >>>> Awards. But I guess everyone knew that already!

I'm glad that Born of Osiris won for best Deathcore, they put out a truely awesome effort. Metallica's "biggest Letdown" wasn't really a letdown was it? I thought we'd all know it would be terrible, so that's not letting anybody down, that's just meeting expectations. I was quite surprised that Animals as Leaders won in the Djent/Math metal category. I think they might be a little more accessible, but Uneven Structure and Vildhjarta both had, in my opinion, much more ambitious albums that they handled with a great amount of skill.

Symphony X winning Progressive was definitely going to happen. I'm looking forward to the staff picks. Last year, I matched more votes with them than with the general populace, I'll see how it goes.

Best Industrial / Cyber / Electronic Metal Album - Korn...

...Well, seems legit.

Written by Nunzie 69 on 01.03.2012 at 09:53

Sorry you disagree,but I believe a band or artist should be recognized for his/her accomplishment no matter it's genre.Not only that but there are so many bands that cross categories such as Revocation,Sylosis,Devin Townsend,........Don't see how that would go in line with what they do in the Grammys in less it just becomes a popularity contest.By the way I agree Iconoclast was no prog album ,I picked Leprous's" Bilateral".

It goes in the same line because it would also be a popularity contest. Just like the Grammy's have a Best album or the Oscars have a Best movie or best picture. if we want accurate results we need to compare oranges with oranges. I really like bands that breaks the mold of genre-definition as well, but for now we can put them in either Exprimental, Avant-Guarde or the dominating influence. I don't see how Revocation is hard to categorised thought.

Written by sorin on 01.03.2012 at 14:10

Machine Head trash metal !!!!!!!!!!!!!

much better Havok and Onslaught, both are the best albums of this year.

Much better Vektor, this is the real best thrash album of the year, but you know, they aren't so famous like Machine Head...

Machinehead is not even thrash !!! VEKTOR was a big revolution, They made thrash metal sound new after 20 years

I am surprised Korn won, I thought people here hated their latest.

The Neurotech album was just so much better anyways.

Written by truenoacero on 01.03.2012 at 17:55

Written by sorin on 01.03.2012 at 14:10

Machine Head trash metal !!!!!!!!!!!!!

much better Havok and Onslaught, both are the best albums of this year.

Much better Vektor, this is the real best thrash album of the year, but you know, they aren't so famous like Machine Head...

Amen to that!

Btw, i don't understand why Novembers Doom is on Best Melodeath choices, when the band is clearly a DOOM band.
The same goes to Draconian and some other bands.

Omnium Gatherum should have won, instead of Amon Amarth.

Sadly, some votes is about the name of the band, and not the album.

My bitching:

Only picked one winner, 40 Watt Sun, but was sad to see Ixion and Argus end up low enough down the votes in Doom Metal. Whitesnake winning hard rock.....I actually found that genuinely funny, so no bitching from me there (plus, I admit to finding one or two of the tracks of it OK). Heavy / Melodic Metal....so very disappointed to see Hell down in fourth. Amorphis being so far ahead honestly made me go ''Wtf?'' for a second before I checked out the number of votes in the Melodeath / Extreme Power / Gothenburg Metal, so I guess that makes sense. Found it disappointing that IE won Power Metal, but did expect it. Symphony X winning Prog Metal, and by that margin....I'll take it as a win that my second favourite, Myrath, got second. Though I'm not a thrash metal fan, I agree with whoever made the argument earlier in this topic about MH being one of the most ''original'', depending on their own style rather than following along this revivalist thrash thing, for that I'm happy enough to see they won.

Anyway, that's enough bitching for me. Like MoraWintersoul has said, the winners were people who found new bands/albums to listen to thanks to the awards, and I found plenty, so cheers to the staff for their hard work.

Also, not to crack the whip or anything, but is there a designated date for when the staff picks'll be made known?

Written by Daniell on 01.03.2012 at 09:53

Written by Mattybu on 01.03.2012 at 02:59

I'd say having fucking Machine Head win for thrash is a worse crime.

Oh really. Some of the thrash bands on the list are revivalist copycats who are no more than pale shadows of old, classic bands (Vektor, Warbringer). Some young, but slightly fresher bands like Skeletonwitch or Toxic Holocaust gave us good albums, but they also come short on the originality scale. Other nominees are actually old bands that still manage to release albums that are at least half decent (Megadeth, Onslaught, Destruction). Machine Head, another old band, released a solid album that isn't copying anyone, because it's MH's own, recognizable style. So it doesn't really surprise me that they won.

And, to paraphrase your words, I'd say having fucking Anthrax receive 21 write-in votes is a worse crime.

Yeah, really; regardless of your opinions on them I would've taken Warbringer, Toxic Holocaust, or probably even Skeletonwitch (which I would give around a 7-7.5/10) over Machine Head. After listening to about 5 minutes of watery Machine Head I get bored and listen to other shit. Sorry I didn't design my opinion to please you.

And by the way, I would still put Machine Head winning as a worse crime than Anthrax receiving 21 votes. Much worse.

Written by jsoft on 01.03.2012 at 18:29
Btw, i don't understand why Novembers Doom is on Best Melodeath choices, when the band is clearly a DOOM band.
The same goes to Draconian and some other bands.

Yeaaaaaaaaaaah... No.

Sorry... Draconian aren't doom, same goes to Novembers Doom... Both bands have left their roots and while having some doom influences they jsut aren't doom anymore. Actually, I don't know what's the reason of inconsistency in Draconian's profile, I will make sure their genre is changed properly to what they are now which is doom gothic metal, NOT gothic doom metal (see the difference?).

Written by jsoft on 01.03.2012 at 18:29

Btw, i don't understand why Novembers Doom is on Best Melodeath choices, when the band is clearly a DOOM band.
The same goes to Draconian and some other bands.

why? because they have "doom" in their title?

challenge Marcel to a Doom-Off. that should be entertaining.

Written by Nardor on 01.03.2012 at 14:07

Insomnium and Vektor lost to the better-known names! :S

Eh, I had to say that.
PFFFFFFFFFFT Surtur Rising. Was shit compared to One For Sorrow or even New World Shadows. -_-

Written by X-Ray Rod on 01.03.2012 at 18:36

Written by jsoft on 01.03.2012 at 18:29
Btw, i don't understand why Novembers Doom is on Best Melodeath choices, when the band is clearly a DOOM band.
The same goes to Draconian and some other bands.

Yeaaaaaaaaaaah... No.

Sorry... Draconian aren't doom, same goes to Novembers Doom... Both bands have left their roots and while having some doom influences they jsut aren't doom anymore. Actually, I don't know what's the reason of inconsistency, I would probably make sure their genre is changed properly to what they are now which is Doom gothic metal, NOT gothic doom metal (see the difference?).

Talking about Aphotic, in my opinion their sound is clearly doom. I don't hear much symphonic parts, comparing to Surtur Rising or New World Shadows.

Written by BitterCOld on 01.03.2012 at 18:41

why? because they have "doom" in their title?

challenge Marcel to a Doom-Off. that should be entertaining.

It's clearly because of the name! Oh you...

Written by Druss on 01.03.2012 at 18:33

Also, not to crack the whip or anything, but is there a designated date for when the staff picks'll be made known?

One to two weeks.

Written by Edmund Fogg on 01.03.2012 at 17:53

Written by Nunzie 69 on 01.03.2012 at 09:53

Sorry you disagree,but I believe a band or artist should be recognized for his/her accomplishment no matter it's genre.Not only that but there are so many bands that cross categories such as Revocation,Sylosis,Devin Townsend,........Don't see how that would go in line with what they do in the Grammys in less it just becomes a popularity contest.By the way I agree Iconoclast was no prog album ,I picked Leprous's" Bilateral".

It goes in the same line because it would also be a popularity contest. Just like the Grammy's have a Best album or the Oscars have a Best movie or best picture. if we want accurate results we need to compare oranges with oranges. I really like bands that breaks the mold of genre-definition as well, but for now we can put them in either Exprimental, Avant-Guarde or the dominating influence. I don't see how Revocation is hard to categorised thought.

It would be an absolute clusterfuck and utterly pointless.

as you pointed out, the highest rated album is the best gauge. any form of voting in the MSA's, whether "free range write-ins" (like surprise/let down) or staff selected would just be a popularity contest... like, golly, every other category. And if staff limited it to 10 nominees, think of all the whining, crying, bitching, moaning, avatar changing to bitch that took place this year over just Absu not getting in in Black. Then factor that across every genre when virtually every MS user feels like (to use one of my favorite Lucas quotes ever) "we tossed their bike in the canal" because we didn't like their favorite album as much as they did.

on second thought, it would be fucking awesome to read the melt-downs when the Top 10 of the year to vote for were a bunch of "obscure" bands that didn't even rack up 100 votes...

Written by Druss on 01.03.2012 at 18:33


Also, not to crack the whip or anything, but is there a designated date for when the staff picks'll be made known?

we like to let some time pass and the bitching about the user picks die down before we stoke the flames and unveil our own.

we spend two months working hard to get this done, so we like to savor the discord like a multi-course meal.

I want to thank the ms awards for giving me "pointers" on some great metal. I gotta say, from the categories I voted, I'm disappointed with Korn's win. I see ppl don't like that Symphony X won, their album got my vote, but it was hard to choose between Iconoclast and Tales of the Sands by Myrath.

Written by Edmund Fogg on 01.03.2012 at 17:53

Written by Nunzie 69 on 01.03.2012 at 09:53

Sorry you disagree,but I believe a band or artist should be recognized for his/her accomplishment no matter it's genre.Not only that but there are so many bands that cross categories such as Revocation,Sylosis,Devin Townsend,........Don't see how that would go in line with what they do in the Grammys in less it just becomes a popularity contest.By the way I agree Iconoclast was no prog album ,I picked Leprous's" Bilateral".

It goes in the same line because it would also be a popularity contest. Just like the Grammy's have a Best album or the Oscars have a Best movie or best picture. if we want accurate results we need to compare oranges with oranges. I really like bands that breaks the mold of genre-definition as well, but for now we can put them in either Exprimental, Avant-Guarde or the dominating influence. I don't see how Revocation is hard to categorised thought.

When bands like Amon Amarth,Machine Head,Amorphis,and Symphony X win,it's a popularity contest anyway.I don't want to lose the categories ,but it would be nice to have an overall favorite.Revocation often gets put in the death category as well as thrash,they have vast influences in their music,I believe their album and many others were overlooked this year.

Amorphis ? Why not

Written by Nunzie 69 on 01.03.2012 at 19:59

When bands like Amon Amarth,Machine Head,Amorphis,and Symphony X win,it's a popularity contest anyway.I don't want to lose the categories ,but it would be nice to have an overall favorite.Revocation often gets put in the death category as well as thrash,they have vast influences in their music,I believe their album and many others were overlooked this year.

Agreed with you here. I guess one way to do it would be to have a List generator that will go throught all the user created list named Best (year) album and select only the top 2 or 3 then create the list based on the number of time band x were cast in position y. I'm no programmer so I don't know if it is possible. From what I heard of Revocation I think it would go more in the Death scene then Thrash but that is debatable. When I was talking about bands defying categorisation I was more talking about bands such as Amogh Symphony, Unexpect, Sigh, Totdgetlitcher etch...That's why I didn't get the Revocation reference

My biggest disappointment is Machine Head winning for thrash. Seriously, Skeletonwitch and Havok's releases were much stronger (and more consistent) than Unto the Locust, which in my opinion was mediocre at best.

Written by BitterCOld on 01.03.2012 at 18:50

Written by Edmund Fogg on 01.03.2012 at 17:53

Written by Nunzie 69 on 01.03.2012 at 09:53

Sorry you disagree,but I believe a band or artist should be recognized for his/her accomplishment no matter it's genre.Not only that but there are so many bands that cross categories such as Revocation,Sylosis,Devin Townsend,........Don't see how that would go in line with what they do in the Grammys in less it just becomes a popularity contest.By the way I agree Iconoclast was no prog album ,I picked Leprous's" Bilateral".

It goes in the same line because it would also be a popularity contest. Just like the Grammy's have a Best album or the Oscars have a Best movie or best picture. if we want accurate results we need to compare oranges with oranges. I really like bands that breaks the mold of genre-definition as well, but for now we can put them in either Exprimental, Avant-Guarde or the dominating influence. I don't see how Revocation is hard to categorised thought.

It would be an absolute clusterfuck and utterly pointless.

as you pointed out, the highest rated album is the best gauge. any form of voting in the MSA's, whether "free range write-ins" (like surprise/let down) or staff selected would just be a popularity contest... like, golly, every other category. And if staff limited it to 10 nominees, think of all the whining, crying, bitching, moaning, avatar changing to bitch that took place this year over just Absu not getting in in Black. Then factor that across every genre when virtually every MS user feels like (to use one of my favorite Lucas quotes ever) "we tossed their bike in the canal" because we didn't like their favorite album as much as they did.

on second thought, it would be fucking awesome to read the melt-downs when the Top 10 of the year to vote for were a bunch of "obscure" bands that didn't even rack up 100 votes...

Cluster fuck? Pointless? Well isn't this thing that already? There are so many bands in the wrong categories.Keep the categories but have an overall favorite,That list thing doesn't work because it goes on a rating platform and not a number of votes.Let the staff pick the top 10 most rated albums of the year and let us readers vote,and of course write ins are accepted.There will always be bitching and crying........isn't that what these forums are for?

Written by Nunzie 69 on 01.03.2012 at 21:12

There are so many bands in the wrong categories.

Such as?

November's Doom in the melodeth category,Symphony X in the prog,Machine Head in the thrash........I'm not saying where to place them all,but is Iconoclast more of a prog album then Deconstruction? Is Mastodon's The Hunter a true sludge album?

How on Earth is Machine Head ahead of Vektor on the best thrash of the year? Machine Head is barely thrash. I wouldn't even classify them as thrash in the true sense of the word. They're a pretty worthless band if you ask me.

Machine head has a following of 12 year olds, and fanboys.

It isn't a surprise really, the biggest bands are going to win, regardless of the quality of the album.

Written by Nunzie 69 on 01.03.2012 at 21:35

November's Doom in the melodeth category,Symphony X in the prog,Machine Head in the thrash........I'm not saying where to place them all,but is Iconoclast more of a prog album then Deconstruction? Is Mastodon's The Hunter a true sludge album?

I believe Deconstruction belongs in avant-garde, that was correct.
And SyX is prog even if they have this heavy metal approach now, I which other category would you put it?

And Mastodon is in a fine line between prog and sludge, but I really don't mind them being in sludge.

Written by DraconionDevil on 01.03.2012 at 21:50

How on Earth is Machine Head ahead of Vektor on the best thrash of the year? Machine Head is barely thrash. I wouldn't even classify them as thrash in the true sense of the word. They're a pretty worthless band if you ask me.

I won't question MH's quality as a band. But yeah, my opinion (and of a lot of users, for what I've seen) is that they don't fit thrash at all.
And their current style on their MS profile is "Progressive Thrash".

Written by jsoft on 01.03.2012 at 18:49

Talking about Aphotic, in my opinion their sound is clearly doom. I don't hear much symphonic parts, comparing to Surtur Rising or New World Shadows.

So you are saying that melodeath bands must have symphonic elements in thir music?