2012 Musical Perusals
2012 Musical Perusals
My list of favourites and interests for this year ordered roughly in descending order. My new years resolution is to branch out a bit and listen to new and unfamiliar genres, metal and non-metal.
Edit: Anything above about a 7/10 I'll keep here. Now with approximate rating in a .5 scale and ordered according to **replay value** i.e how often I listen to them. AND now with some comments, adding them gradually.
And be sure to scroll down to the bottom, where I've put some interesting EP's that I've heard.
Following Strade's initiative I'll leave here the most recent additions:
Klone, Behold The Arctopus, Acyl, Anglagard, Aoria, Árstíðir Lífsins, Butterfly Temple, Civilization One, Deathhammer, Destinity, Faal, Flotsam & Jetsam, Headspace, Hellwell, Neurosis, Opera Diabolicus, Orden Ogan, Paradox, Seven Kingdoms, Saturnus, Sulphur Aeon, Virus, Obsidian Kingdom
Edit: Anything above about a 7/10 I'll keep here. Now with approximate rating in a .5 scale and ordered according to **replay value** i.e how often I listen to them. AND now with some comments, adding them gradually.
And be sure to scroll down to the bottom, where I've put some interesting EP's that I've heard.
Following Strade's initiative I'll leave here the most recent additions:
Klone, Behold The Arctopus, Acyl, Anglagard, Aoria, Árstíðir Lífsins, Butterfly Temple, Civilization One, Deathhammer, Destinity, Faal, Flotsam & Jetsam, Headspace, Hellwell, Neurosis, Opera Diabolicus, Orden Ogan, Paradox, Seven Kingdoms, Saturnus, Sulphur Aeon, Virus, Obsidian Kingdom
1.
Enslaved
- RIITIIR
(9.5) Progressive Black: Albums are rarely as diverse and captivating at the same time as this one. Each track is completely it's own and there isn't a trace of repetitiveness. Given time each piece falls into place to reveal what is exceptionally well composed songwriting. While it still retains an essence of black metal it's clearly pushing at the genre boundaries with its union with an extreme form of progressive metal. Stylistically it is something which I find difficult to describe, shifts in sound can be quite staggering at times. An example is "Storm of Memories" which makes transformations from a hazy amalgamation of post-metal and under-layered psychedelic vocals to a melodic black driven mid-section which again becomes something else entirely with an extreme progressive sound with clean vocals. The amount of ingenious material is too great to outline here in detail, it's absolutely stuffed with engaging and unique music. Simply put, this is progressive in every sense of the word, even by this band's standards.
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2.
Pharaoh
- Bury The Light
(9.5) Power: With riff after riff delivered in a meticulously precise driving catchiness, with that powerful voice oozing charisma, with the expertise with which all the pieces are placed together to craft such a well conceived gem of an album how could it not be one of my favourites so far this year? There is very little in this album which was not purposely placed before you to enjoy, attention to detail is what makes this album truly stand out.
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3.
Anglagard
- Viljans Öga
(9) Symphonic Progressive Rock
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4.
Overkill
- The Electric Age
(9) Thrash: Raw energy is not so difficult to come by in the genre of Thrash these days. Trouble is channeling that energy into something coherent and tangible. Something that doesn't just lash out at you, but hits you with a determined knowledge about where best to unleash that energy. With age comes wisdom, and Overkill are as wise as they come for an old agenda stepping to the fore to show the unlearned how its really done.
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5.
The Foreshadowing
- Second World
(9) Gothic Doom: An album with an incomparable atmosphere which seems to both dominate yet give you room to breathe. Like a slowly enveloping recollection of a dream which grows in intensity the more you remember, the more each element falls into place and leaves you with an album that is essentially a continuous flow of Gothic/Doom as it was meant to be.
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6.
At The Graves
- Solar
(9) Psychedelic Sludge/Doom: The most surprising album I've heard all year, this is a sludge induced trip into psychedelia which never manages to bore. At all times the drumwork holds an astonishingly gripping presence which literally leaves you hanging on for every next beat. The distorted guitarwork maneuvers it's way around from the shorter sludge trips to the elongated doom laden passages which somehow dominate your attention throughout. The vocals would likely be an issue for some, but I'm too busy zoning out to care much.
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7.
Ihsahn
- Eremita
(9) Extreme Progressive: Where will you be when you descend into madness? In the mind of Ihsahn that's where, a strange piece of grey matter filled with the swerving of accessible forms of extreme prog, its frightening thoughts fueled by a captivating combination of black metal and the sax. It's hard to draw your attention away from this excellent album.
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8.
Psycroptic
- The Inherited Repression
(9) Technical Death: Another case in which the vocals would likely be the source of deterrence.. but those sweet riffs! Technical death.. no scratch that.. music of ANY kind is rarely this catchy! They are so well defined and dart about the place with wild and unrelenting abandon yet are astonishingly easy to follow. Consider this technical death for the uninitiated by all means, as I am, I have yet to find a catchier album from the genre.
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10.
In Mourning
- The Weight Of Oceans
(9) Progressive/Melodic Death: A harder hitting follow up to the fantastic "Monolith" which isn't quite as engaging but the melodic riffs are no less impressive. Turning from the slightly more progressive previous album to this effort which is more inclined to the basis of the bands music, the melodic death aspect, provides no repercussions. Not all progressive tendencies are left behind of course, tracks like 'From a Tidal Sleep' still run along a melodic line strung together with some Opeth like meanderings. 'A Vow To Conquer Oceans' is an interesting track as it shifts from Amon Amarth like riffage to more tranquil moments which gradually evolve then return fullcircle.
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11.
Ørkenkjøtt
- Ønskediktet
(9) Progressive Black: Well I'll be darned if this isn't one of most peculiar albums I've heard this year. Norwegians seem to have this nifty way of coming up with with progressive metal that is as distinct as it is engaging. Leprous springs to mind, but this album is an amalgamation of the dominating atmosphere of Opeth and the jarring chaos of avantgarde act Virus.
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12.
The Firstborn
- Lions Among Men
(9) Progressive Black/Death: A journey to the Buddhist far east with a suspicious entourage of avantgarde black and progressive melodic death. In other words, shit gets trippy with an eastern vibe. With chunky yet elegant songwriting and strong production this is no doubt one to impress a wide variety of metal fans.
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14.
Astra (USA)
- The Black Chord
(9) Progressive Rock: A flashback to the progressive rock heydays like no other with the charming sounds of the well handled mellotron and a rich tantalizing style. Brings to mind influences such as Yes, Hawkwind, Camel, Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream.
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15.
Xandria
- Neverworld's End
(9) Symphonic: An invigoration of the classic Nightwish sound which doesn't happen to be just a mere recap but performs it to an exceptionally high degree. Issues of originality fall away for me based purely on how impressively the album is written and produced.
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17.
Borknagar
- Urd
(8.5) Melodic/Progressive Black: This was a creeper of an album for me, initially it had little impact but I found myself enticed to return for more. Gets under your skin like a thorn and is melodic black at it's most deceptive, that is its a highly melodic/progressive album which hides its black metal roots well enough to ensure a broad range of tastes are satisfied.
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18.
Anathema
- Weather Systems
(8.5) Atmospheric Rock: Absolutely effortless to listen to this album isn't going to surprise you, but it will be difficult for you not to get a bit sentimental. Smooth sailings.
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19.
Ancestors
- In Dreams And Time
(8.5) Sludge/Doom/Progressive: An unprecedented, at least to my knowledge, kaleidoscope of stunning colours. While not always blending without producing a few laboriously drawn out passages it is a very ambitious attempt to mix such an interesting collage of sounds into one image. Like a 70's prog band attempting to play a doom paced sludge and throwing in a stoner edge for good measure.
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20.
Atoma
- Skylight
(8.5) Atmospheric/Post: You will get lost in this atmosphere, that is a guarantee. Though if you get too lost you'll drift off into the nothingness of space, and if you happen to not require oxygen to survive it will get boring at some point. But its space, no-ones going to hear you so quit complaining and just listen and drift.
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21.
Vintersorg
- Orkan
(8.5) Progressive Folk: This album is a bitterly cold frostbitten black metal in the harshest recesses of the Scandinavian wilderness... or it's just Frosty the Snowman in corpse-paint. In any case everyone's having a great time being grim. But that would go against the whole idea of 'grimness' wouldn't it? Forget I said anything. Just know that this album is astonishingly fun.
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22.
Conan
- Monnos
(8.5) Stoner/Doom: One of the heaviest albums I've ever heard. Simple as that. Sludgey stoner riffs reign supreme and roll over you with no remorse. The only let up is the excellent 4th track 'Golden Axe' which provides not only a breather but a slow and subtle introduction to the final two monstrous songs. The combination of vocals and backing vocals, while perhaps not sounding impressive initially, enhances the atmosphere a great deal.
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23.
In The Silence
- A Fair Dream Gone Mad
(8.5) Atmospheric/Progressive: Debut albums rarely come as well conceived as this beauty, a stunningly performed atmospheric yet edgy progressive metal with Gothic undertones which remind me of some of Katatonia's best moments
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24.
Diablo Swing Orchestra
- Pandora's Piñata
(8.5) Avantgarde: With an album name like that you are left guessing as to what surprise waits to be released once you swing the bat. Many delectable goodies are likely to burst forth from this overly stuffed Piñata which are impossible to describe in so short a space. Be mindful though that whatever you find has been meticulously constructed to best ensure your enjoyment.
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25.
Om
- Advaitic Songs
(8.5) Stoner: Om, just Om. Get into your meditative positions people and breathe it in. For best effect make sure you're seated on a fine rug in some Persian bazaar with enough incense to lift the roof away. Or just listen to some guys crafting some stoner tinged ambiance. I dunno.
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27.
Devin Townsend
- Epicloud
(8.5) Progressive: Nothing has quite the same effect on me, as I'm sure it does for many others, as the music of Townsend. This album sounds so irresistibly whimsical and simply oozes a catchy happiness. With pop sensibilities cranked to the max, the album does an astonishing job of retaining Devin's heavy progressive/industrial sound. Heavy and happy, what more could you ask for really?
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28.
Ahab
- The Giant
(8.5) Funeral Doom/Post: The title of the first track says it all, the band are moving on to different waters. Whether this is a welcome change will depend on your own ability to acclimatize and keep with them as they sail into post metal territory. They are natural sailors and you will have nothing to worry about in that regard, they are in full control of their vessel. Post metal that will crush you in the oceanic depths.
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29.
Nekromantheon
- Rise, Vulcan Spectre
(8.5) Thrash: If you could capture adrenaline in a 30 minute musical experience, this would likely be what it would sound like. This is absolutely savage, menacing, unforgiving thrash designed for one purpose and one purpose alone, to break your fucking neck! This is none of that modern sleek thrash, this is a nod, or rather an extremely aggravated indication, to 80's thrash of the likes of Kreator, Morbid Saint and Slayer.
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31.
Sigh
- In Somniphobia
(8.5) Avantgarde: You can breathe a "sigh" of relief, it's some more unmatched black metal tinged zaniness from this avantgarde troupe. Mixing in all manner of musical styles and tidbits there is something here to please just about any metal fan.
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33.
Anguish
- Through The Archdemons Head
(8.5) Doom: The exact opposite of cleanliness this is some gritty, dirty doom. Which drags at you relentlessly. It really can be quite the effort to trawl through but once you reach the end you'll feel so accomplished that you want a second round of this unpolished gem.
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34.
Horn Of The Rhino
- Grengus
(8.5) Sludge: Well honed with the scent of death this is menacing sludge propelled forth by some of the most impressive vocal work you'll likely hear from a sludge band. Fits their style like a glove. Just monstrous really.
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35.
Bloodshot Dawn
- Bloodshot Dawn
(8.5) Progressive Melodic Death: This a teeming mass of riffs which not only put the death back into melodic death but is quite technical and lined with thrash veins. Powerful sinews which deal doses of punchy guitar work that have you craving another bout.
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36.
Pepe Deluxe
- Queen Of The Wave
(8.5) Psychedelic Pop
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46.
Dead Can Dance
- Anastasis
(8.5) World
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99.
Maitreya
- Remember The Stones
(8) Post/Sludge
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113.
Flotsam & Jetsam
- Ugly Noise
(7.5) Heavy/Thrash
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136.
Reserve De Marche
- The Last Twenty Years
(7.5) Post
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169.
Herodias
- Dance Of The Seven Veils
(7) Darkwave/Doom
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177.
VonDream
- Glimpse Into Reality
(7) Melodic Death
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180.
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181.
----------(Short and Sweet: Interesting EP's)----------
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184.
Cerber
- Mad At Soul
(8.5) Stoner/Sludge/Hardcore
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192.
Old English
- EP
(8) Progressive Rock
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194.
Nasag
- Part 1
(7.5) Post/Drone
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196.
Garuda
- Labyrinths Of Stone
(7) Stoner/Sludge
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198.
Deformitas Pictura
- Life Is Life Processing
(7) Technical Death
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Disclaimer: All top lists are unofficial and do not represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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Posts: 2574 Written by R'Vannith on 07.12.2012 at 16:46 Not really... "Edaenia 2312" has a very distant flamenco feel in the drumming, "Hidden Genocide" has a great "gypsy jazz" outro, but, dear friend, do yourself a favor and listen to Leading Vision in full. It has so much groovy goodness it should not be hard for you digest it. Also the flamenco thing is a novelty, but what people really like them for is the groove, and that is why "Process of a New Decline" caused somewhat of backlash from some of the fans.
---- Savor what you feel and what you see Things that may not seem important now But may be tomorrow R.I.P. Chuck Schuldiner Satan was a Backstreet Boy
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Posts: 3099 Written by K✞ulu on 07.12.2012 at 23:24 I'll head for Leading Vision in that case. Yeah I guess the flamenco is a bit of a novelty, only pops up every so often in the music. Still it makes it even groovier for me when they do that! 
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