Year: 2006
Click here for the artist's site
That was when I noticed this two year old album in my collection. Boy, was I wrong.
Showing posts with label top 10. Show all posts
Showing posts with label top 10. Show all posts
Friday, May 14, 2010
Album Review: Zero Hour - Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond
Zero Hour: Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond
Year: 2006
Click here for the artist's site
Zero Hour managed to fly under my radar almost completely for a few years. I actually had a copy of Specs of Pictures Burnt Beyond shortly after release due to a recommendation, but had never really listened much. It wasn't until their 2008 release Dark Deceiver that they caught my attention. I was blown away by that album, and couldn't really imagine technical progressive metal done any better.
Year: 2006
Click here for the artist's site
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
My top albums of 2009
Much like my brother said, 2009 was a huge year for music. There were so many outstanding albums it's taken me a fair amount of time to synthesize a list that reflects my favorite offerings in a year filled with awesome acts. Moreover, there are so many that I've loved so intensely, it was difficult to get the list down to a bare ten. The honorable mentions list is enormous, and the best thing to do would be to look at this top ten my brother did and check out all the things I neither have space nor predilection to mention again. He does have impeccable taste, after all...
But here's my top ten, after considerable trouble deciding.
Honorable Mentions: Everything on this list
Fever Ray: S/T
Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest
Dethklok: Dethalbum II
The XX: xx
10. Muse: The Resistance
Muse have a lot going for them - they're ridiculously popular, they supposedly put on one of the best live shows you'll ever see, and (most importantly) they're awesome. 2006's Black Holes and Revelations has some of the best hooks you'll ever hear in a rock album. While The Resistance might not be as formidable an album as their previous effort, its concept album feel gives it a leg up on its predecessor. It's an album where everything belongs and has its place, and when it's good, it's ridiculously good. The last three tracks (an imposing three-movement song) give hope to me that perhaps popular music isn't as far gone as I feared.
9. The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come
While The Mountain Goats have been around forever, it's only been in the last few months that I've really heard them, but it's got to be said - you might not enjoy the slightly nasal delivery of vocals that John Darnielle sings with, but he writes some of the most literate, engaging, worthwhile lyrics you'll ever hear. His latest outing has everything one expects from a later-period Mountain Goats release - poignant, autobiographical wordsmithing, simple, warm guitar work, minimalist instrumentation. But its incorporation of themes from biblical scripture make it a more personal, spiritual effort.
8. Devin Townsend Project
Devin Townsend is probably the artist that consistently makes my "Top Albums of XXXX Year" list more than any other. His inventiveness and constant reinvention make him usually engaging, sometimes off-putting, and always worth a listen. Or ten. And his two albums last year are no exception. Ki is by far the stronger of the two albums, a huge departure from Devin's usual style, but Addicted has plenty of great hooks, too. Also, the addition of Anneke van Giersbergen as a vocalist on Addicted makes it that much better (I honestly believe she may have my favorite female voice in rock). Devin is changing as a person and as an artist, but when change results in releases of this calibre, I'm grateful for it.
7. F*** Buttons: Tarot Sport
Pay no attention to the name of this band. It's the most offensively nonsensical name I've heard all year. But that stupid name belies the talent and greatness of the music. This is electronica of the highest order; sure, it takes ten minutes to venture through one of their songs, but the ride is so crazy it's worth every minute of it. It's the first electronic album since Daft Punk's 2001 album Discovery that makes me want to listen to electronic music. It is almost like carefully packaged epilepsy - but the seizures last only as long as you want them to.
6. Kylesa: Static Tensions
This album is huge. The dual drumming is stellar, the grungy production hits all the right spots, the whole thing erupts in your face for forty minutes without letting up. It's been a constant play in the game Audiosurf, and has kept me entertained for hours.
5. OSI: Blood
The Matheos/Moore combination hits its sweet spot with their third release under the moniker OSI. It is heavy and progressive in all the right spots; it fades to calm and foreboding just when it needs to. The drumming is top notch (no need for Portnoy's ego this time around), the guitars are as slicing as ever, the programming and keyboards add the perfect level of ambience to every measure. Creepiness made perfect, this is a must-have for the rocker in all of us.
4. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
I've listened to this album a couple of dozen times, and I still don't know what to make of it. I can't figure out how to describe it, what words or phrases might make you understand what is going on here. And I've had an epiphany - I don't have to explain it. The music explains itself, even if you don't know what to make of it. This is a strange, beautiful thing.
I've been listening to Riverside since the release of their second album, and while their following release was worthwhile, I didn't feel it came close to what Second Life Syndrome had done. Anno Domini High Definition doesn't come to that previous level - it demolishes it, becoming by far their best release.
This album is a constant barrage of progressive awesomeness, from its some-of-it-is-backwards-and-some-of-it-is-forwards opener to the jarring guitars and subtle melodies that weave throughout the disc. Right when you think you know where Mew is going to take it, they go another direction - and make you enjoy every minute of it. This is the natural evolution of progressive rock, and I can't help but smile every time I hear the album. It feels equal parts prog, indie, electronica, and chutzpah - and is my favorite disc to come out in 2009.
2. Phoenix: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
This album makes me dance. And dance. And then dance some more. It will probably make you do the same. That is all.
1. Mew: No More Stories...
Monday, January 04, 2010
Top 10 albums of 2009
2009 was, again, another pretty great year for music. As always, there is just too much out there to be familiar with it all, but here are my top 10 albums of the year. Important to note, these are my 10 favorite albums of the year. This may not exactly agree with what I consider the best albums.
Honorable Mentions: In a lesser year, every one of these would be in the top 10. They just were beat out by some even more stellar offerings.
Isis: Wavering Radiant
Mastodon: Crack the Skye
Porcupine Tree: The Incident
Megadeth: Endgame
Karnivool: Sound Awake
Honorable Mentions: In a lesser year, every one of these would be in the top 10. They just were beat out by some even more stellar offerings.
Isis: Wavering Radiant
Mastodon: Crack the Skye
Porcupine Tree: The Incident
Megadeth: Endgame
Karnivool: Sound Awake
Kylesa has been doing the two drummer thing for a few albums now, but on no previous album has it been utilized as effectively as on Static Tensions. With the drummers clearly separated in each channel, the effect is driving and propulsive. The music rocks as well, with a sort of raw and primal energy, yet a sound that balances clear production and that grunge that is so vital to the music. Awesome album.
YOB is one of those bands I had heard of, but had not heard. After the dissolution of the band, and formation of Middian, I was aware that they were out there and were a respected Doom band. But it wasn't until the release this year of The Great Cessation that I heard these guys. And what an introduction it was. This album is fabulous. It is the distilled essence of Doom. And it is suffocatingly heavy, in the truest sense of the word heavy.
Devin Townsend took some time off from his many other projects (The Devin Townsend Band, Strapping Young Lad) and spent a bit of time with his family. The result is The Devin Townsend Project. Four albums over two years, this year gave us the first two. Ki is a much more mellow, laid back Devin than we have seen in just about ever (if you don't count his ambient, electronic album). It is a lush album, full of dynamics and contrasts, yet very restrained. Addicted is almost the opposite. Full of the trademark Devin Townsend "wall of sound", with layer upon layer of rocking riffs, yet packaged in an almost pop styling, it is a fantastic album.
With the conclusion of the "Reality Dream" trilogy, Riverside had to move on. I was a bit apprhensive about where that move would take them, honestly. But not to worry. The wrote an album dealing with our frantic "high definition" lives (cleverly titled so the initials of the album are ADHD) that is their most urgent, energetic release yet. This is a fantastic album, and one of my favorites of theirs.
6. Katatonia: Night is the New Day
Russian Circles first album, Enter, was a powerful post-metal/post-rock instrumental statement. Their second album, Station, was a decent album, but a bit too mellow for me. On Geneva, these Chicagoans have managed to find the perfect balance between they two. This is an album full of layers, textures and different moods. The rhythm work is impeccable as well, with fabulous drumming and bass work. With Geneva, Russian Circles have solidified their position in the pantheon of American post-rock royalty.
4. OSI: Blood
Arjen Lucassen has the Midas Touch as far as I am concerned. Every project he seem to touch these days turns to gold. After the brilliance that was The Human Equation and 01011001, Arjen decided to take a break. He also stepped away from Stream of Passion, another project he had helmed. His next project became Guilt Machine, more of a band than the collaborative efforts of his previous projects. Guilt Machine is pure, distilled essence of Arjen prog. Long compositions, slowly building to powerful guitars, soaring vocals, and uncharacteristically bleak lyrics combine to create one of my absolute favorite albums of the year.
And coming in at a tie for the top spot, I just couldn't pick one of these over the other.
Supergroups can be tricky. Too often they fail under the egos and styles of the individual members. On their debut album, Shrinebuilder bucks that trend. Retaining all the style and individuality of the comprising members, yet effectively creating something entirely new, Al Cisneros and company deliver a record of truly epic proprotions. This is much more than the sum of its individual parts, and a monster of an album.
My Dying Bride was a new introduction for me this year, and proved to be one of the most impressive. For Lies I Sire is a masterpiece in atmosphere building. With the reintroduction of violins, the music becomes that much more haunting and eerie. Turn out the lights, crank up the volume, and prepare to be moved. It was a tough call, but after repeat listens, this is my favorite album of the year.
So there you have it, 10 (actually 11) fantastic albums from a pretty darn good year in music. I'm looking forward to what 2010 brings.
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