Best ov Metal 2008: A Year-End List Thread

I'm pretty sure I didn't submit a list, I remember telling Phil as such. I'm just not interested in making year-end lists much anymore, it's been a slow, steady burnout on them. (This is just me talking, I'm hardly advocating a universal dictum.) The vast majority of my listening has been a couple of listens and on because there's so much music out there, new and old, and I want to hear it. All of it.

Well, could you at least tell us a few of the metal albums that you really enjoyed this year? I'm kind of curious, since you're one of the few people on ILM that likes metal but isn't primarily a metalhead.

more of you fuckin guys need to put aura noir on your lists because their album slays.

what I sent to Decibel, don't know if it counted 'cause there weren't 20:

1. Wetnurse, Invisible City (Seventh Rule)
2. Aura Noir, Hades Rise (Tyrant Syndicate)
3. Amon Amarth, Twilight of the Thunder God (Metal Blade)
4. Krisiun, Southern Storm (Century Media)
5. Coffins, Buried Death (12 Buck Spin)
6. Blood Ceremony, self-titled (Rise Above)
7. Church Bizarre, The Liberating Darkness (Hells Headbangers)
8. Hate Eternal, Fury and Flames (Earache)
9. Prostitute Disfigurement, Descendents of Depravity (Willowtip)
10. Morbosidad, Profana la Cruz del Nazareno (NWN)
11. Earth, The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull (Southern Lord)
12. Jucifer, L'autichienne (Relapse)
13. Septic Flesh, Communion (Season of Mist)
14. Origin, Antithesis (Relapse) (gets a pass on shitty drum sounds, but for the last time)
15. Voetsek, Infernal Command (Tankcrimes/Selfmadegod)
16. Indricothere, self-titled (The Sacrosanct Opuscule)
17. Indian, Slights and Abuse/The Sycophant (7th Rule)

Hoos I don't really hear any Jefferson Airplane in BC, woman doesn't sing like Grace Slick even a little and the band doesn't play like JA either. Wanna bear that one out a little more?

I guess I hadn't heard Cynic yet when that list came due so you can throw that one in there

Thanks, Jeff, I'm flattered -- let me think about it, but don't hold your breath. Alfred joked on another thread that my 'top ten' list overall would consist only of the Cure and Portishead, which is actually kinda accurate in that those *are* the only two albums that leap to mind in general. Then there's all this stuff I've reviewed and listened to and talked about here and there and I'm really just fine with that rather than aiming at some sort of overarching ranking and organization, genre specific or not.

I mean, just looking at John D's list there I'd go, "Oh yeah, the Coffins, Earth and Voetsek albums are all pretty great," and they are!

Adrien's article is up ..

The Best Metal Albums of 2008 < PopMatters Picks: The Best Music of 2008 | PopMatters
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/66487-the-best-metal-albums-of-2008/

Good work, Adrien.

Worst Album On Kerrang Albums Of The Year List 2008

Lots of albums yet to hear, but from what I've digested so far the following are worthy of a best of 2008 list, in no particular order:
Kampfar
Arckanum
Darkspace
Esoteric
Krallice
Bloodbath
Skepticism
Decayed
Septic Flesh

adrien's list is the best i've seen so far imo

FUCK YOU, HOOS

(line cut off - Caina was supposed to be the tenth on the list)

2008 releases on heavy rotation, starting with what I estimate got listened to the most:

Nachtmystium
Enslaved
Hammers of Misfortune
Prostitute Disfigurement
Torche
Earth
Isole
Leviathan
Amon Amarth
Arckanum
Jucifer
Made Out of Babies
Esoteric
Aura Noir
Harvey Milk
Darkspace III
Gojira
UFOMammut
Withered

i just have to say, i'm no music writer, just an ordinary fan and consumer, and it's probably pretty obvious from that list how much the Rolling Metal threads influence what I listen to. <3 u guys, for real.

^ Yeah, this

Reading Adrien's great list, I was proud to have heard most of those CDs, then realized that was just me leeching off the collective power of Rolling Metal.

Harvey Milk, Esoteric, Opeth, Krallice, and Cynic have all been in regular rotation over here, but there are still quite a few listed above I would have to hear before attempting a 2008 list.

Yep, thanks, lot of useful guidance off the metal threads here. 2008 has been all about Levaithan, Darkspace and (especially) the Paysage D'Hiver reissues.

xpost Totally agree. I only got back into metal 5 years ago or so. Finding the metal threads here was a godsend. The quality and diversity is amazing. Melvins, Opeth and Nachtmystium have ruled the roost at my house this year.

Nominate Albums For ILM's Metal Albums Of The Year 2008 (closes Jan 1st )

Terrorizer's top 20:

01. ENSLAVED - Vertebrae (Indie Recordings)
02. CYNIC - Traced In Air (Season Of Mist)
03. NACHTMYSTIUM - Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1 (Candlelight)
04. GOJIRA - The Way Of All Flesh (Listenable)
05. TORCHE - Meanderthal (Hydra Head)
06. MESHUGGAH - ObZen (Nuclear Blast)
07. OPETH - Watershed (Roadrunner)
08. METALLICA - Death Magnetic (Warner)
09. BLOODBATH - The Fathomless Mastery (Peaceville)
10. ESOTERIC - The Maniacal Vale (Season Of Mist)
11. EARTH - The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull (Southern Lord)
12. AC/DC - Black Ice (Sony)
13. ASVA - What You Don't Know Is Frontier (Southern Lord)
14. HAIL OF BULLETS - ...Of Frost And War (Metal Blade)
15. SEPTICFLESH - Communion (Season Of Mist)
16. DARKTHRONE - Dark Thrones And Black Flags (Peaceville)
17. LEVIATHAN - Massive Conspiracy Against All Life (Moribund)
18. GRAND MAGUS - Iron Will (Rise Above)
19. HARVEY MILK - Life... The Best Game In Town (Hydra Head)
20. SATYRICON - The Age Of Nero (Roadrunner)

I had a funny feeling Enslaved would win.

1) METALLICA – Death Magnetic (Warner)
2) TESTAMENT - Formation Of Damnation (Nuclear Blast)
3) OPETH – Watershed (Roadrunner)
4) ENSLAVED – Vertebrae (Nuclear Blast)
5) AC/DC – Black Ice (Sony)
6) DISMEMBER - Dismember (Regain)
7) MOTORHEAD – Motorizer (SPV)
8) WARREL DANE – Praises To The War Machine (Century Media)
9) DESTRUCTION – D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N. (AFM)
10) AMON AMARTH – Twilight Of The Thunder God (Metal Blade)
11) CHILDREN OF BODOM – Blooddrunk (Universal)
12) IHSAHN - angL (Candlelight)
13) GOJIRA - The Way Of All Flesh (Prosthetic)
14) WHITESNAKE – Good To Be Bad (SPV)
15) CRADLE OF FILTH - Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder (Roadrunner)
16) NACHTMYSTIUM - Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1 (Century Media)
17) IN FLAMES – A Sense Of Purpose (Koch)
18) SLIPKNOT - All Hope Is Gone (Roadrunner)
19) MISERY INDEX - Traitors (Relapse)
20) SATYRICON - The Age Of Nero (Roadrunner)
21) ICED EARTH – Crucible Of Man (SPV)
22) VENOMOUS CONCEPT - Poisoned Apple (Century Media)
23) GRAND MAGUS – Iron Will (Candlelight)
24) THE GATES OF SLUMBER – Conqueror (Profound Lore)
25) THE HAUNTED - Versus (Century Media)
26) EVERGREY – Torn (SPV)
27) HEADHUNTER – Parasite Of Society (AFM)
28) WEDNESDAY 13 - Skeletons (DR2)
29) URIAH HEEP – Wake The Sleeper (Universal)
30) INTO ETERNITY - The Incurable Tragedy (Century Media)
31) CAVALERA CONSPIRACY – Inflikted (Roadrunner)
32) DAYLIGHT DIES – Lost To The Living (Candlelight)
33) JOURNEY - Revelation (Nomota LLC)
34) UNLEASHED – Hammer Batallion (SPV)
35) BLOODBATH - Unblessing The Purity (Peaceville)
36) BENEATH THE MASSACRE - Dystopia (Prosthetic)
37) KING’S X – XV (InsideOut)
38) KIUAS – The New Dark Age (Spinefarm)
39) MESHUGGAH – obZen (Nuclear Blast)
40) AIRBOURNE - Runnin' Wild (Roadrunner)
41) DEATH ANGEL - Killing Season (Nuclear Blast)
42) BULLET – Bite The Bullet (Black Lodge)
43) THE HELLACOPTERS - Head Off (Psychout)
44) KRALLICE – Krallice (Profound Lore)
45) MOTLEY CRUE - Saints Of Los Angeles (Eleven Seven)
46) NORMA JEAN - The Anti Mother (Solid State)
47) EPICUREAN - A Consequence Of Design (Metal Blade)
48) HAMMERS OF MISFORTUNE – Fields/Church Of Broken Glass (Profound Lore)
49) HATE ETERNAL - Fury & Flames (Metal Blade)
50) STUCK MOJO – Southern Born Killers (Napalm)
51) BUCKCHERRY - Black Butterfly (Eleven Seven)
52) CYNIC - Traced In Air (Season Of Mist)
53) HATCHET – Awaiting Evil (Metal Blade)
54) DANKO JONES - Never Too Loud (Bad Taste)
55) GRAVEYARD – Graveyard (Tee Pee)
56) LEVIATHAN – Massive Conspiracy Against All Life (Moribund)
57) MIDNATTSOL - Nordlys (Napalm)
58) JUDAS PRIEST – Nostradamus (Sony BMG)
59) BIG ELF – Cheat The Gallows (Custard)
60) ZIMMERS HOLE – While You Were Shouting At The Devil… (Century Media)
61) JORN – Lonely Are The Brave (Frontiers)
62) KORPIKLAANI - Korven Kuningas (Nuclear Blast)
63) FALCONER – Among Beggars And Thieves (Metal Blade)
64) BRAINSTORM – Downburst (Metal Blade)
65) ALESTORM – Captain Morgan’s Revenge (Napalm)
66) HAIL OF BULLETS - ...Of Frost And War (Metal Blade)

First reaction: Journey?

Oh, that was Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles' year-end list.

It's more than a feeling... wait, no, that's Boston. I got nothing.

A lot of good in that list, but a whole heckuvalotta wrong as well. In my opinion, anyway!

starting with the no1! Lets hope the ilx metal poll is a good list.

ahem
VOTE In ILX's BEST METAL ALBUMS Of 2008 POLL (Voting Ends Jan 15th)

Metal Storm Awards 2008 - Nominations
http://www.metalstorm.ee/awards/index.php

Best albums by genre

Alternative Metal

Atmospheric/Symphonic Metal

Avantgarde Metal

Black Metal

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Gothic Metal

Grindcore

Hard Rock

Heavy Metal

Melodeath/Gothenburg Metal

Metalcore

Pagan/Viking/Folk Metal

Post-Metal

Power Metal

Progressive Metal

Sludge/Stoner Metal

Thrash Metal

Other awards

The Best Cover Song

The Best Debut Album

The Best DVD

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Special awards

The Best Drama