Best ov Metal 2008: A Year-End List Thread

i can't believe i didn't know that jex thoth was roger adultery's wife until i saw a picture of her. and that roger is in the band. shoulda known by the name alone. still haven't heard the music though. talk about hipster metal! do they really do a bobb trimble cover?

yeah, "when the raven calls" or whatever. it's the best song on the album by far.

man eff posting a year-end list in september, takes all the fun out of december

September is the new December.

Well, like I said, there is nothing final or definitive about my list. It's just a snapshot in time. Could just as well have been in March or July.

production should be a bit more Mazzy Star-ish

Haven't heard a note of Mazzy Star music in forever, so I could be wrong (weren't they sort of a vague hazey shoegazey band?), but I predict I'd find this a lot more boring than I find Jex Thoth now.

If you took just the exhalations on a Cocteau twin record and drenched it in digital reverb you;d have Mazzy Star.

It's the warmth, closeness, and timeless sound of the instruments that appeals to me. It's simultaneously hazy and crystal clear.

I think Jex Thoth sort of aim for this and just barely miss.

Dead Meadow kind of aim for this, but then add in more mud than is perhaps necessary (though it seems to work for them).

Okay, here's my list, properly arranged.

1. Harvey Milk – Life…the Best Game in Town
2. Opeth – Watershed
3. Krallice - Krallice
4. Disfear – Live the Storm
5. Meshuggah – obZen
6. Gojira – The Way of All Flesh
7. Enslaved - Vertebrae
8. Caina – Temporary Antennae
9. Wetnurse – Invisible City
10. Nachtmystium – Assassins
11. Made Out of Babies – The Ruiner
12. Torche - Meanderthal
13. The Gates of Slumber – Conqueror
14. Cynic – Traced in Air
15. Amon Amarth – Twilight of the Thunder Gods
16. Jucifer – L'Autrichienne
17. Hate Eternal – Fury and Flames
18. Genghis Tron – Board Up the House
19. Origin – Antithesis
20. Intronaut - Prehistoricisms

And I'm done futzing with my list.

1. Torche - Meanderthal
2. Nachtmystium – Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1
3. Harvey Milk – Life.. the Best Game in Town
4. Gojira – The Way of All Flesh
5. Opeth – Watershed
6. Krallice – Krallice
7. Coffins – Buried Death
8. Metallica – Death Magnetic
9. Black Mountain – In the Future
10. The Gates of Slumber – Conqueror
11. Racebannon – Acid or Blood
12. The Goslings - Occasion
13. Melvins – Nude with Boots
14. Lair of the Minotaur – War Metal Battle Master
15. Genghis Tron – Board Up the House
16. Saviours – Into Abaddon
17. Testament – The Formation of Damnation
18. Disfear – Live the Storm
19. Eluveitie – Slania
20. Toxic Holocaust – An Overdose of Death

And theres a pile of albums I still haven't been able to hear - Wetnurse, Intronaut, Made Out of Babies, Cynic, Amon Amarth.

Better late than never? here's my top 15

The Gates Of Slumber - Conqueror (Profound Lore)
Opeth - Watershed (Roadrunner)
Isole - Bliss of Solitude (Napalm)
Toxic Holocaust - An Overdose of Death (Relapse)
Various Artists - This Comp Kills Fascists (Relapse)
Intronaut - Prehistoricisms (Century Media)
Hammers Of Misfortune - Church Of Broken Glass/Fields (Profound Lore)
Tyr - Land (Napalm)
Testament - Formation of Damnation (Nuclear Blast)
Death Angel -Killing Season (Nuclear Blast)
Alestorm -Captain Morgans Revenge (Napalm)
Unearthly Trance - Electrocution (Relapse)
Torche - Meanderthal (Hydra Head)
Krallice - s/t (Profound Lore)
Grand Magus - Iron Will (Rise Above)

my list for metal edge, slightly amended

1. Fuck the Facts, Disgorge Mexico
2. Equilibrium, Sagas
3. Meshuggah, ObZen
4. Cuong Vu, Vu-Tet
5. Ayreon, 01011001
6. The Mars Volta, The Bedlam in Goliath
7. Opeth, WatershedDornenreich, In Luft Geritzt
8. Devian, Ninewinged Serpent
9. Dornenreich, In Luft Geritzt
10. Uli Jon Roth, Under a Dark Sky
11. Taint, Secrets and Lies
12. Korpiklaani, Korven Kuningas
13. Made Out of Babies, The Ruiner
14. Mourning Beloveth, A Disease for the Ages
15. Cowboys From Hell, Monster Rodeo
16. Trinacria, Travel Now Journey Infinitely
17. Arghoslent, Hornets of the Pogrom
18. Urn, Soul Destroyers
19. Belphegor, Bondage Goat Zombie
20. Helrunar, Baldr Ok Iss

whoops on #7, just opeth there

list that i send to no one because i write for nothing

1. Enslaved - Vertebrae
2. Made Out of Babies – The Ruiner
3. Gojira – The Way of All Flesh
4. Harvey Milk – Life…the Best Game in Town
5. Torche - Meanderthal
6. Opeth – Watershed
7. Genghis Tron – Board Up the House
8. Cynic – Traced in Air
9. Amon Amarth – Twilight of the Thunder Gods
10. The Gates of Slumber – Conqueror

man, just read through this. slagging harvey milk's vox is one thing I can't get behind AT ALL. I mean yeah, they might be ugly... but god, they are PERFECT for that band.

love the way the burly, aggro grunting takes on an almost fragile quality due to blown-out, strained delivery. especially during the quiet moments, which admittedly, there aren't too many of on the new record. "anvil will fall" is maybe my fave example in their catalog. the version from this set is good:
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/03/harvey-milk-at.html

the harvey milk and meshuggah records would make my list.

would cherry pick from these as well: gridlink, goslings, coffins, gates of slumber, caina

kinda disappointing: cynic, genghis tron

btw based on everything I'd read about Blood Ceremony I expected to love it and then.....Jefferson Tullship?

Here's my top 20 as of now:

1. Opeth - Watershed
2. Nachtmystium - Assassins
3. Testament - Formation of Damnation
4. Torche - Meanderthal
5. Gojira - The Way of All Flesh
6. Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder Gods
7. Hammers of Misfortune - Fields/Church of Broken Glass
8. Into Eternity - The Incurable Tragedy
9. Death Angel - Killing Season
10. Bigelf - Cheat the Gallows
11. Earthless - Live at Roadburn
12. Eluveitie - Slania
13. Moonspell - Night Eternal
14. Vader - XXV
15. The Haunted - Versus
16. Esoteric - the Maniacal Vale
17. Graveyard – Graveyard
18. All That Remains - Overcome
19. Dragonforce - Ultra Beatdown
20. Bison B.C. - Quiet Earth

1. Torche - Meanderthal
2. Made Out Of Babies - The Ruiner
3. Harvey Milk - Life... The Best Game In Town
4. The Melvins - Nude With Boots
5. Black Mountain - In The Future
5. Boris - Smile
6. Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Vol. 1
7. Various Artists - This Comp Kills Fascists
8. Black Boned Angel - The Endless Coming Into Life
9. Trash Talk - Trash Talk
10. Keep Of Kalessin - Kolossus

My list upthread isn't changing. Enslaved, Cynic, and Amon Amarth might bump up, but that 20 is impenetrable.

I was assigned the Harvey Milk and Krallice albums for the ME feature, so I downloaded them, but for me they fall into the "I can appreciate this but will probably never be in the mood to listen to it" category.

It is, of course, entirely possible that this is an epic fail on my brain's part.

I really cant be bothered doing a list. maybe in January..

I'm boycotting this thread until somebody puts up a list with the new Black Elk on it.

i haven't heard the new black elk album. i really liked the last album. great jesus lizard rip-off.

Best Album Made by Black Elk This Year

1. Black Elk - Always a Six, Never a Nine

It's a good album, that.

2. Guns n' Roses - Chinese Democracy

What's your list, Metal Edge Contributor Ned Raggett?

Ned writes for Metal Edge???

He does. And quite well at that.

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

Death Metal

Doom Metal

Extreme Doom Metal

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

The Best Video

The Biggest Letdown

The Biggest Surprise

Special awards

The Best Drama