ILX METAL ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 2008 RESULTS (NOW COUNTING DOWN THE TOP TEN, BTW)

Thanks to all who voted. A BIG thanks to MUSICALLY for providing advice and the template. and a BIG thanks to GLENN for tabulating the results. Much appreciated so direct all thanks to them.
Glenn will also be providing more stats during the week.

191 albums were voted for so I shall post a list of the albums 100-51 now and then Monday-Friday I shall post the remainder of the top 50 with any blurbs (if any get sent in) and artwork.
If you want to see the full list I can post it at the end.

Now here is the albums ranked 100-51 for you to check out if you don't know them.

100 Trees - Lights Bane
99 Black Elk - Always a Six, Never a Nine
98 A Storm of Light - And We Wept the Black Ocean Within
97 The Lizards - är-chē-ol’-ō-gy
96 Fuck the Facts - Disgorge Mexico
95 Burst - Lazarus Bird
94 Rose Tattoo - Blood Brothers
93 Mar De Grises - draining the waterheart
92 Gevolt - Sidur
91 In This Moment - The Dream

90 Graveyard - Graveyard
89 Morkobot - Morto
88 Kayo Dot - Blue Lambency Downward
87 In Flames - A Sense of Purpose
86 Aura Noir - Hades Rise
85 Aldebaran - dwellers in twilight
84 Dornenreich - In Luft Geritzt
83 Dir En Grey - Uroboros
82 Candlemass - Lucifer Rising
81 Ayreon - 01011001

80 Pyramids - Pyramids
79 Helrunar - Baldr Okk Iss
78 Tyr - Land
77 Equilibrium - Sagas
76 Samothrace - Lifes Trade
75 Journey To Ixtlan - S/t
74 Septicflesh - Communion
73 Ocrilim - Annwn
72 Death Angel - Killing Season
71 Black Boned Angel - The Endless Coming Into Life

70 Motorhead - Motorizer
69 Girlschool - Legacy
68 Sex/Vid - Communal Living
67 US Christmas - Eat the Low Dogs
66 Helms Alee - Night Terror
65 Cult of Luna - Eternal Kingdom
64 Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
63 Deathspell Omega - Veritas Diaboli Manet in Aeternum
62 Brave - Monuments
61 Jarboe - Mahakali

60 Conifer - Crown Fire
59 Belphegor - Bondage Goat Zombie
58 Trinacria - Travel Now Journey Infinitely
57 Lair of the Minotaur - War Metal Battle Master
56 Cough - Sigillum Luciferi
55 Amen Ra - Mass IIII
54 The Sword - Gods of the Earth
53 Eluveitie - Slania
52 Zebulon Pike - Intransience
51 Racebannon - Acid or Blood

I am extremely fail, I like metal and listen to a fair bit of it but have heard none of those!

I think I'll use this list to check stuff out, Racebannon first I think, noisey punky Locustesque stuff on Southern if I remember correctly?

Well that's the idea. If you don't know the albums then check them out since some ilxors liked them enough to bother voting for them.

That's the Racebannon, except they were on Secretly Canadian for most of the time.

I thought it was funny that Girlschool finished one place ahead of Motorhead.

Hahahhahh

No 50
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/7/9/9/179995.jpg
Gnaw Their Tongues - An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood

Any chance of getting # of votes/points for each? I'm assuming most of these were only picked by one voter?

it received 50 votes. It's actually a tie with the next entry (but im still awaiting a blurb for that from someone)

How many points does a no 1 ranked album get? and a number 2 and so forth?

A no1 ranked album received 25 points. No 2 received 24 points. and so on.

Assuming the math is correct, everything higher than 90th place (and maybe a couple spots below that) had to be named by more than one voter. (I know that, because my #1 finished 94th, and I also voted for #90, which means it had to have received at least one other vote from somebody else to beat my #1.)

I am happy to learn, also, that I wasn't the only person to vote for Helrunar, Ayreon, Dornenreich, or Girlschool (all of which also beat my #1.)

So how did you guys break ties?

For 100-51 we didn't. Alphabetical order I'm afraid. Didn't have enough time for that and didn't think anyone would care for the smaller ranked albums.
For 50-1 any ties will just see a joint placing UNLESS it received a no1 vote(s). The album with most no1 votes gets preference.

no 50 (Tied)
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CnhfmUHWbrM/SLsRC66Au4I/AAAAAAAAAg0/MO7mP5ia16Q/s320/Blue+Sabbath+Front.jpg
Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Untitled (Gnarled Forest) 50 points.

The people who make this music are absolutely KRAZY in the best way possible. This is Haunted House music in the extreme, with a lot of ghosts attached. I think it's fantastic and I can't think of a single thing to compare it to. These people are so tuned into THE GOTH that they are literally ON THE OTHER SIDE OF IT. Very scary 3 AM music. Play at your own risk. --- Bimble

Graveyard and In This Moment, tied on 27 points, are the last multi-voter albums before the one-voter albums start. There are a few 2-voter albums below that, but the lowest-ranked 3-voter album is Trees, which is actually in a tie for 97th.

Xhuxk I also voted for Helrunar, Dornenreich, and Ayreon. Didn't hear Girlschool though.

I won't post any stats from which you could guess the winners yet, but I think it's safe to mention that I have a ranking of the 30 voters by centricity, and Xhuxk is last.

Of the 190 albums that got at least one vote, 79 of them got only one vote. 38 more got only 2 votes, and 20 more got only 3.

15 of the 30 voters filled up all 25 slots, 15 didn't. There were 8 voters who didn't have anything for which they were the only voter. 6 more voters had only 1 album nobody else voted for, and 8 more had only 2. At the other extreme, one voter (i.e. Xhuxk) had 15 of 25 albums that nobody else mentioned, and another voter had 13.

Are you going to tell us who had what?

No 48
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/2/0/8/7/208724.jpg
Bison B.C. - Quiet Earth (Metal blade) 52 Points

Are the album pics showing for everyone?

Don't paste pics from Rateyourmusic, they never show.

I'll post a bunch more voter stats after Pfunk finishes his rollout!

No 47
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/9/3/6/193646.jpg
Withered - Folie Circulaire (Prosthetic Records) 54 points

47 (tied)
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/8/9/8/189886.jpg
Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness (Crucial Blast) 54 points

45 (tied)
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/2/0/4/9/204927.jpg
Metallica - Death Magnetic (Warner Bros) 55 points

HAW! - Roxymuzak

45 (tied)
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/7/4/6/174602.jpg
Unearthly Trance - Electrocution (Relapse) 55 points.

Kicks the shit out of Death Magnetic - pfunkboy

43
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/2/0/9/5/209539.jpg
Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony (Rise Above) 59 points

hey it's one of the like four albums i heard from the original list!

HI BLOOD CEREMONY ALBUM! HIIIIIIII!!!!

You like it?

Anyone got any comments on the albums listed so far? Someone must have, people voted for them!

My comment is that Uroboros (Dir En Grey) is the only record I own that GF absolutely cannot abide, a record that makes her question my ability to differentiate between "interesting" oddity and intolerable bullshit. This is by no means a defense of Dir En Grey. I feel the same way, that it represents the point at which contenderizer and "any semblance of good taste" finally part ways (not that they were ever really on good terms in the first place).

This is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra of heavy metal. Crazy technical death-prog + Patton-esque vocal gymnastics + boatloads of toxic arena pomp = pyramid of horrors. But I love it. The wacky goblin shit makes me laugh, and helps the maudlin emo crooner gak go down smooth, and the production is like a mad doctor's lab in an old horror flick, every sound a neat little trick of some sort or another. It's been ages since I had a real guilty pleasure, a record I was truly embarassed by my affection for, but if I've ever had one, this is it.

oh btw are the images working now?

They are for me.

They worked before and still do.

i dont have any blurbs for the top 50 as of yet, but i will say a few things - the Zebulon Pike record is a pretty astonishing accomplishment, heavy, droning at times and speedy at others, meticulously arranged and rehearsed. looooong long instrumental songs, but completely captivating. (point of disclosure - the new bass player is a good friend of mine, but this really isn't nepotism, it is a crushingly original great record).

My other nod has to go to Belphegor who just plain deliver the goods without any really out there attempts at anything, but they do it so well that you cant fault anything about it. big mean ugly brutal metal, and although i didnt give it my number one spot, it might be the album i listened to more than any other this year.

xpost: oh i meant the RYM image links i replaced. so thats good news then.

42
http://www.reviewbusters.net/images/music/disfear_live_the_storm_cover.jpg
Disfear - Live the Storm (Relapse) 60 points

I'm looking forward to the reaction to the no 41 album

well now so am i

Obviously you aren't looking forward to it THAT much!

I'm building suspense so that you can all share a greater sense of disappointment

And I can bump the thread and you all rush to see no 41.

No 41
http://cdn.stereogum.com/img/thumbnails/posts/marnie_stern-this_is_it-album_art.jpg
Marnie Stern - This Is It And I Am It And You Are It (Kill Rock Stars) 61 points

uh

http://www.dalegunner.com/images/bloggies/deathtofalsemetal.gif

john justen approves or disapproves?

It shows how open-minded ilx metal fans are.

disapproves. strenuously.

all due respect but wow do i not even slightly get how that sort of placement is possible.

lets see how many voted for it..

lets see how many who voted for it..

two people had it in their top4 and another few had it in their lists on top. Anymore stats stuff I'll leave to Glenn.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e10/dance4christ/Jam%20Therapy/the-angry-mob.jpg

I would have voted for it but there was 25 metal albums I thought deserved it more. I think I voted for it in the main ilx poll though.

and it's a damn site better than Death Magnetic

all due respect but wow do i not even slightly get how that sort of placement is possible.

― non-ironic safety helmet wearer (John Justen), Monday, January 19, 2009 11:15 PM (9 minutes ago)

didnt mean this as some sort of "you did the math wrong" thing, btw. i mean that i can not wrap my head around enjoying marnie stern that much, or at least thinking of her as a great metal album contender.

Not at all surprised my the high Marnie Stern album placement. A few folks around here went gaga over it a while back. I mean, I didn't vote for it, but I did vote for several things that I would never in a million years call metal. I assumed all entries nominated in good faith, so I just picked what I though were the 25 best records in the list -- not the 25 "most metal" or some shit.

but taste is wonderful because it is different and blah blah blah so i will shut up now xpost

i really like marnie stern (and zach hill) and I'm pleased it's placed. I like the fact we can have BSBC, Marnie Stern and Girlschool all in a top 100.
It sure beats the same old traditional troo kvlt lists that are around. The fact people voted for them proves they deserved their place in the nominations.

I wonder what would have happened if Portishead and The Bug had got nominated due to their metal associations.

Apart from meaning the lex would like albums on a metal list.

Even if you disregard points, the albums with 4 votes are in a tie for 42nd. Stern got four, all from voters who also voted for stuff that you'll see at the top of the list. I actually hadn't heard her album until after voting. It doesn't fit my personal instinctive definition of metal, but I like it a lot. Better than anything in the top 13 of this poll!

Now you're being silly!

I've messed up somewhere along the line with tied votes. glenn can check to make sure but it appears every album should be one place higher. (ive asked on mod req board to fix it)

So this is actually
no 39
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/9/2/2/192246.jpg
Darkspace - III (Avant Garde Records) 62 points

this isnt my day. 1st i get the order wrong now the darkspace album pic wont show

ARGGHHHHHH

Here's what we have so far:

Rank - Points - Voters - Artist - Album

97 - 23 - 1 - A Storm of Light - And We Wept the Black Ocean Within
97 - 23 - 2 - Black Elk - Always a Six, Never a Nine
97 - 23 - 1 - Everon - North
97 - 23 - 1 - Legless - Finding Mr. Perfect
97 - 23 - 1 - RTX - JJ Got Live RATX
97 - 23 - 3 - Trees - Lights Bane
94 - 24 - 1 - Burst - Lazarus Bird
94 - 24 - 1 - Fuck the Facts - Disgorge Mexico
94 - 24 - 1 - The Lizards - archeology
91 - 25 - 1 - Gevolt - Sidur
91 - 25 - 1 - Mar De Grises - draining the waterheart
91 - 25 - 1 - Rose Tattoo - Blood Brothers
89 - 27 - 3 - Graveyard - Graveyard
89 - 27 - 2 - In This Moment - The Dream
84 - 28 - 2 - Aldebaran - dwellers in twilight
84 - 28 - 2 - Aura Noir - Hades Rise
84 - 28 - 2 - In Flames - A Sense of Purpose
84 - 28 - 3 - Kayo Dot - Blue Lambency Downward
84 - 28 - 3 - Morkobot - Morto
82 - 29 - 3 - Dir En Grey - Uroboros
82 - 29 - 2 - Dornenreich - In Luft Geritzt
80 - 30 - 2 - Ayreon - 01011001
80 - 30 - 2 - Candlemass - Lucifer Rising
78 - 31 - 2 - Helrunar - Baldr Okk Iss
78 - 31 - 2 - Pyramids - Pyramids
76 - 32 - 2 - Equilibrium - Sagas
76 - 32 - 4 - Tyr - Land
74 - 33 - 3 - Journey To Ixtlan - S/t
74 - 33 - 2 - Samothrace - Lifes Trade
70 - 34 - 2 - Black Boned Angel - The Endless Coming Into Life
70 - 34 - 3 - Death Angel - Killing Season
70 - 34 - 3 - Ocrilim - Annwn
70 - 34 - 2 - Septicflesh - Communion
69 - 35 - 4 - Motorhead - Motorizer
68 - 36 - 2 - Girlschool - Legacy
67 - 37 - 2 - Sex/Vid - Communal Living
64 - 38 - 3 - Cult of Luna - Eternal Kingdom
64 - 38 - 2 - Helms Alee - Night Terror
64 - 38 - 4 - US Christmas - Eat the Low Dogs
63 - 39 - 3 - Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
61 - 40 - 2 - Brave - Monuments
61 - 40 - 2 - Deathspell Omega - Veritas Diaboli Manet in Aeternum
58 - 41 - 2 - Belphegor - Bondage Goat Zombie
58 - 41 - 2 - Conifer - Crown Fire
58 - 41 - 3 - Jarboe - Mahakali
56 - 42 - 3 - Lair of the Minotaur - War Metal Battle Master
56 - 42 - 2 - Trinacria - Travel Now Journey Infinitely
54 - 44 - 4 - Amen Ra - Mass IIII
54 - 44 - 3 - Cough - Sigillum Luciferi
53 - 46 - 4 - The Sword - Gods of the Earth
52 - 47 - 5 - Eluveitie - Slania
50 - 48 - 3 - Racebannon - Acid or Blood
50 - 48 - 3 - Zebulon Pike - Intransience
48 - 50 - 4 - Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Untitled
48 - 50 - 3 - Gnaw Their Tongues - An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood
47 - 52 - 4 - Bison B.C. - Quiet Earth
45 - 54 - 4 - Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness
45 - 54 - 4 - Withered - Folie Circulaire
43 - 55 - 4 - Metallica - Death Magnetic
43 - 55 - 5 - Unearthly Trance - Electrocution
42 - 59 - 4 - Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony
41 - 60 - 4 - Disfear - Live the Storm
40 - 61 - 4 - Marnie Stern - This Is It And I Am It And You Are It
39 - 62 - 4 - Darkspace - III

I'm not going to be very popular with the mods :(

Don't sweat it. You had 'em in the right order, and who gives a crap whether The Sword is #53 or #54? Onward!

No 39
http://cdn.overstock.com/images/products/muze/music/L1036622.jpg
Intronaut - Prehistoricisms (Century Media Records) 63 points

WAIT NO THAT IS NUMBER 38 right?

aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

yes. please fix that one at least and remove this and the above scream thanks :)

time for bed methinks

i'll post the next one in the morning once Intronaut gets changed to no38. This time, bed!

no 37
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/8/7/0/187031.jpg
Jex Thoth - Jex Thoth (I Hate) 66 points

no 36
http://syrfox.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/genghis_tron-board_up_the_house.jpg
Genghis Tron - Board Up the House (Relapse) 68 points

Sorry for no blurbs but I didn't receive any and I'm not a writer so I couldn't do anything decent.

My blurb for Jex Thoth is that I haven't heard it yet. Was curious, as it was made to sound cool by people whose job that is.

had I got around to voting, marnie would have been in my list too. because it's ace.

and no, it's not metal, but it certainly rocks more than, say, the kayo dot album (which I also love, but is largely metal by association rather than by sound).

nice work on the list, pfunk. very interested to see what else crops up.

l0u1s jagg3r complained about the inclusion of kayo dot. But he didn't bother to vote so who cares about him! ;)

Most of the thanks should go to Musically & Glenn.

I only heard a bit of 'Worship Me Or Die' or whatever that Marnie album is called, but the bit I heard could have reasonably been deemed Van Halen dickwaving if you didn't know who was waving it, so it's legit imo

If it was instrumental I think there would be less complaints about it.
Anyway it's a really good album, end of.

Oh, what the heck, I'll spoil the surprise:

35. Obama
34. Obama
33. Obama
32. Obama
31. Obama
30. Obama
29. Obama
28. Obama
27. Obama
26. Obama
25. Obama
24. Obama
23. Obama
22. Obama
21. Obama
20. Obama
19. Obama
18. Obama
17. Obama
16. Obama
15. Obama
14. Obama
13. Obama
12. Obama
11. Obama
10. Obama
9. Obama
8. Obama
7. Obama
6. Obama
5. Guns And Roses - Chinese Democracy
4. Obama
3. Obama
2. Obama
1. Obama

thanks for spoiling who is not no1

Ha!

no 35
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/8/8/7/188728.jpeg
Witch - Paralyzed (Tee Pee) 70 points

In order to continue not spoiling anything, I will neither confirm nor deny Pfunk's insinuation that I have revealed anything.

should never have allowed axl and his hired hands to vote. I suspected they weren't ilxors

How does the Deathspell Omega album compare to Fas -- Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum?

I don't think it got the acclaim the previous two got, but I could be wrong. I haven't heard it so I'm not really in a position to answer you though :)

Maybe Scott or j0hn can answer.

Just to build suspense a little for #34, I'll mention that it has the highest average point-rating of any album with 3 or more voters!

And it got a number one vote. I feel guilty for not voting for it. I thought it would have been top ten for sure.

2 albums i thought were definite top 10s (one of which I thought was a potential no1) didn't make the 10(the last one possibly because it's fans on the rolling metal thread didn't vote).

oh and for the "where's the tr00 kvlt metal on this list?" Where were your votes? ;)

Speaking of #1 votes, there was only one album that got 3 #1 votes (and it didn't win) and only 4 that got 2 #1 votes (one of which didn't even make the top 20).

Here's a snippet of something I wrote about the Witch album (#35) when it came out:

While trying to find a concise description of what they now sound like, I stumbled onto the following idea: Gene Ween and Mark Arm locked in a shipping container and given a day to record a bunch of songs based on an eight year-olds’ written description of The Stooges’ Fun House. It isn’t really accurate, but there is something so fuzzed-out, sloppy, naively charming and innocently joyous about Paralyzed; something that both Ween and Mudhoney have managed on occasion in their long careers.

34
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/2/1/4/6/214614.jpg
Hammers of Misfortune - Fields/Church of Broken Glass (Profoundlore) 71 points(1 no1 vote)

New Deathspell kind of splits the difference between Kenose and Fas et c. Not as ambient/blurry as the former, but not as fiercely jagged as the former. Kenose is my favorite DO so far, and this is right up there with it. Maybe they just do better with the short albums/long songs thing.

Anyone got comments on the Hammers Of Misfortune?

I sheepishly have not heard HoM. At all. On the list...

I like it. I know Jeff liked it a lot. The ilxor who had it at no1, I don't know who he/she is. But they were the 1st person to vote.

Remember to vote in the ILX poll !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I VOTED IN THE 2008 ILX ALBUMS & TRAX POLL AND I LIKED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ballots due Thurs, Jan 22)

"How does the Deathspell Omega album compare to Fas -- Ite, Maledicti, In Ignem Aeternum?"

it's not an album. just one 22 minute track. which is kind of an album if you grew up with albums that were 20+ minutes long. it was half of a split LP put out in 2008. and it is being released this year (this month) as a single EP. i've only heard the track online. sounded like what you would expect from them.

i guess people were voting for the 2009 EP promo and not the split with S.V.E.S.T. that came out last year.

um, that was me...

hi, maria

Scott you didn't vote :(

33
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/511%2Bp3kE4cL._SS500_.jpg
Ascend - Ample Fire Within (Southern Lord) 72 points

The best album Greg Anderson has been involved with in years - pfunkboy

YES! Where's UFOmammut already?

You will just have to wait and see if it made it or not!

Which is why 191-101 hasn't been revealed nor have the albums with zero votes. So no-one can guess what's in the rest of the poll. I'm sure there will be more surprises for some of you.

Glenn may have stats on the zero vote albums, I don't know.

Hey, did I miss anything?

Yes, we inaugurated the first black metal president.

rofl

32
http://www.citypaper.com/sb/143748/trax_jesu.jpg
Jesu - Why Are We Not Perfect (Hydra Head) 78 points

rofl

Why Are You Not Perfect?

Glenn I dont have my notes on this comp, did jesu get in a lot of top 10s? Or did it just pick up votes from most voters? I don't recall it being that high in many lists.
I love Jesu but it's one of many releases last year by JK and I don't remember being that struck by it. I wonder if he's taken Jesu as far as he can, as the recent ep's arent anywhere as good as the 1st ep and the 2 albums.

Maybe he just needs some quality control.

New Final out next month and Godflesh reissues.

I think he may have been concentrating on Final lately

x-post

disagree abt broadyrick quality control he's totally acing that clutching kitten while passively masturbating vibe plus KILLS alcest at making MBV sound like Venom

The Jesu got 6 votes. One #6, one #23 (from me), the other four squarely mid-ballot.

31
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41dy7AvYBTL._SL500_AA240_.jpg
Moonspell - Night Eternal (SPV/Steamhammer) 81 points

I have nothing interesting to say about the above. I'll leave the stats stuff to glenn

I liked the Jesu, but most of it was on the split with Eluvium which made my 2007 list. Most shoegazer stuff he's done is on there (“Blind and Faithless"). Thought the remixes were crap.

Hope he releases some heavier stuff next time. I think he's taken the shoegaze as far as he can.

I'll post the next one once Glenn has done his stats stuff. (thanks again glenn for doing this)

I liked the Moonspell album a lot. I think since Sentenced disbanded, Moonspell have been the kings of that kind of gothic/death metal. As with Jesu, 6 votes: one high, one low, four in the middle.

To recap the stats for #s 50-31 (Rank - Points - Votes - Artist - Album):

48 - 50 - 4 - Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Untitled
48 - 50 - 3 - Gnaw Their Tongues - An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood
47 - 52 - 5 - Bison B.C. - Quiet Earth
45 - 54 - 4 - Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness
45 - 54 - 4 - Withered - Folie Circulaire
43 - 55 - 4 - Metallica - Death Magnetic
43 - 55 - 6 - Unearthly Trance - Electrocution
42 - 59 - 4 - Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony
41 - 60 - 4 - Disfear - Live the Storm
40 - 61 - 4 - Marnie Stern - This Is It And I Am It And You Are It
39 - 62 - 5 - Darkspace - III
38 - 63 - 6 - Intronaut - Prehistoricisms
37 - 66 - 5 - Jex Thoth - Jex Thoth
36 - 68 - 6 - Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
35 - 70 - 5 - Witch - Paralyzed
34 - 71 - 3 - Hammers of Misfortune - Fields/Church of Broken Glass
33 - 72 - 6 - Ascend - Ample Fire Within
32 - 78 - 6 - Jesu - Why Are We Not Perfect
31 - 81 - 6 - Moonspell - Night Eternal

Thanks Glenn!

30
http://www.stonerrock.com/store/images/covers/ath-5299.jpg
The Gates of Slumber - Conqueror (Profoundlore) 83 points

I forgot to mention when posting the Blood Ceremony album that it got 1 number 1 vote.
Glenn what other albums got a no1 vote that were outside the top 50?

^^^that was by me I believe

29 (tied)
http://www.stonerrock.com/store/images/covers/ath-5589.jpg
Earthless - Live at Roadburn (Tee Pee) 88 Points

29 (Tied)
http://www.stonerrock.com/store/images/covers/ath-5177.jpg
UFOmammut - Idolum (Supernatural Cat) 88 points

Here are the albums outside the top 49 that got a #1 vote (Rank - Points - Votes - Artist - Album):

50 - 48 - 3 - Zebulon Pike - Intransience
63 - 39 - 3 - Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
74 - 33 - 2 - Samothrace - Lifes Trade
76 - 32 - 2 - Equilibrium - Sagas
78 - 31 - 2 - Pyramids - Pyramids
89 - 27 - 2 - In This Moment - The Dream
91 - 25 - 1 - Gevolt - Sidur
91 - 25 - 1 - Mar De Grises - draining the waterheart

In This Moment was mine.
91 - 25 - 1 - Rose Tattoo - Blood Brothers

Disfear at no42 got a no1 vote I think

it did.

i just had a feeling that would be the disc i listened to the most over the next five years. which isn't the only criteria, just the only argument one way or the other for the three or four picks that could have been my number one.

I totally would have voted for Sex Vid had I heard it before voting ended. Oh well.

That will teach you to not keep up with the rolling metal thread. Bear that in mind for 2009!

Sex Vid's not even metal though!

dont you start!

48 - 50 - 4 - Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Untitled

wha... why?

or you! ;)

Did you vote btw?

I like that Gates of Slumber album - real metal cover included.
And the Ascend cd, that I bought under Pfunk Boy instigation, is excellent.

xp: i didn't vote, sorry. just didn't really hear enough to feel like it was worth bothering. might've moved blood ceremony up another fraction of a point, i guess...

Marco,I am glad you enjoyed it. I really do think it's the best thing Greg has done in a while(and I do like recent sunn 0))) stuff)
The Gates Of Slumber album is really good too.

The next 2 albums are tied. I will post one now and keep the suspense going on the other until I've finished my dinner.

27 (tied)
http://www.seventhrule.com/store/wetnurse/invisiblecity.jpg
Wetnurse - Invisible City (Seventh Rule Recordings) 89 points

Great, great album, which I would never have heard if J0hn hadn't been hyping it incessantly in Rolling Metal 2008.

27 (Tied)
http://www.stonerrock.com/store/images/covers/ath-5333.jpg
Moss - Sub Templum (Rise Above) 89 Points

I thought the Moss album was a good step up from Cthonic Rites. I think Olly said elsewhere there was new material coming soon. I'm looking forward to that immensely. No doubt it will be crushing doom as ever and for that I say Huzzah!

I was DJing at a best of 2008 night a couple of weeks ago and I played 'Stigma' by UFOmammut and it literally made someone shit their pants on the dancefloor.

Sure that wasn't the Guinness?

Well it was the first Saturday after NYE, so perhaps there were a few loose stomachs in the joint.

As luck would have it one or two regular ILX posters were there and can back me up.

It was horrible really.

Was it one of them?

It was horrible really.

― Doran

would expect so

25
The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia (Sub Pop) 98 Points (1 Number One Vote.)

Having spent nearly a year dissecting Saturnalia, I'm ready to declare this the best album either Dulli or Lanegan has been involved with since the Afghan Whigs' swan song in 1998. It's not "metal" by a long shot (many albums on this list are not "metal" in a strict sense, mind) – it is, however, dark, aggressive, haunting and intense in equal measure. The album kicks off with a rock solid 1-2-3 punch, then unravels into a brooding, downtrodden set of gothic-folk tunes with Lanegan nearly stealing the show before Dulli picks up the pace by album's end. These two musicians have shared career parallels and a personal friendship over the past 15 years, and I'm amazed they took so long to record an album together… but my Lord, was it ever worth the wait. All said, it's a solid, memorable set of tunes from two musicians who have continually raised the bar for themselves since the Whigs and Trees were put out to pasture. ---- ilxor

http://991.com/newGallery/The-Gutter-Twins-Saturnalia-430003.jpg

24
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Ocean - Pantheon of the Lesser (Important Records) 100 Points

Kicks the shit out of all the indie I listened to in 2008. I Am reborn! I am REFORMED! ---- ilxor

23
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Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God (Metal Blade) 109 Points (1 Number One Vote)

A shock result in my eyes.
Surprisingly low placed, I thought this would be a contender for No 1 and a certain top 5 place. But again some of the albums advocates on the rolling metal thread didn't vote. So that's what happens.

No one else surprised?

as we approach the top 20... to compare and contrast with Terrorizer top 20 albums of 2008

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)

22
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Coffins - Buried Death (20 Buck Spin) 111 Points

I shall post no 21 in about 30 mins after i have a cuppa tea.

dj martian some of those albums are still to come. But not telling you who or what position any of them are in. Will not spoil the tension!

Not that surprised - I liked the Amon Amarth, but didn't get caught by it. I wouldn't have even heard it if it wasn't talked about so enthusiastically by some posters, as it is not my usual cup of tea.

Glad to see Ocean do so well.

-bunch of x-posts

21
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Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday (Temporary Residence) 118 Points (2 Number One Votes)

and now over to Glenn for some stats...

It was I who picked Hammers of Misfortune for #1. I've never heard anything by them prior to these albums, but they just fulfill this love I have for 70s rock bands with long songs with lots of great passages (I like to refer to them as Songs with Parts), that are like epic journeys. Songs by bands like Rush, Boston, Kansas, and Yes. But the weird thing is that I am not a big fan of any of those bands other than one or two songs each, and HoM doesn't really sound like any one of them in particular. Anyway, I surprised myself by voting for them. All year I figured I'd be telling everyone that Nachtmystium did the best metal album of the year. :)

Songs by bands like Rush, Boston, Kansas, and Yes. But the weird thing is that I am not a big fan of any of those bands other than one or two songs each

heh neither am I, but i dig the Hammers Of Misfortune album.

Here's the stats recap of 50-21 (Rank - Points - Total Votes - #1 Votes - Artist - Album):

50 - 48 - 3 - 0 - Racebannon - Acid or Blood
50 - 48 - 3 - 1 - Zebulon Pike - Intransience
48 - 50 - 4 - 0 - Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Untitled
48 - 50 - 3 - 0 - Gnaw Their Tongues - An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood
47 - 52 - 5 - 0 - Bison B.C. - Quiet Earth
45 - 54 - 4 - 0 - Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness
45 - 54 - 4 - 0 - Withered - Folie Circulaire
43 - 55 - 4 - 0 - Metallica - Death Magnetic
43 - 55 - 6 - 0 - Unearthly Trance - Electrocution
42 - 59 - 4 - 1 - Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony
41 - 60 - 4 - 1 - Disfear - Live the Storm
40 - 61 - 4 - 0 - Marnie Stern - This Is It And I Am It And You Are It
39 - 62 - 5 - 0 - Darkspace - III
38 - 63 - 6 - 0 - Intronaut - Prehistoricisms
37 - 66 - 5 - 0 - Jex Thoth - Jex Thoth
36 - 68 - 6 - 0 - Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
35 - 70 - 5 - 0 - Witch - Paralyzed
34 - 71 - 3 - 1 - Hammers of Misfortune - Fields/Church of Broken Glass
33 - 72 - 6 - 0 - Ascend - Ample Fire Within
32 - 78 - 6 - 0 - Jesu - Why Are We Not Perfect
31 - 81 - 6 - 0 - Moonspell - Night Eternal
30 - 83 - 6 - 0 - The Gates of Slumber - Conqueror
28 - 88 - 7 - 0 - Earthless - Live at Roadburn
28 - 88 - 8 - 0 - UFOmammut - Idolum
26 - 89 - 6 - 0 - Moss - Sub Templum
26 - 89 - 5 - 0 - Wetnurse - Invisible City
25 - 98 - 5 - 1 - The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
24 - 100 - 6 - 0 - Ocean - Pantheon of the Lesser
23 - 109 - 8 - 0 - Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God
22 - 111 - 8 - 0 - Coffins - Buried Death
21 - 118 - 7 - 2 - Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday

And I'll start the top 20 countdown.........

Tomorrow (Later today UK time)

Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday (Important Records) 118 Points (2 Number One Votes)

I think this was on Temporary Residence, if I recall correctly.

The year's other Grails album (sadly not nominated) was on Important.

Ahh yes. You are right. Not only do I own it and all the other Grails albums, I voted for it too. It just said on the site i checked that it was on Important. Oh well, if john justen sees this maybe he will change it if he has the time.

fixed

And now we enter the top twenty..

20
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Sunn 0))) - Domkirke (Southern Lord} 123 Points

I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't heard Domkirke yet. Will remedy this today.

the top 20 has kicked off in fine style

Domkirke = great.
Must check that Moss album. The Masonic Temple-like cover looks promising.

I had to start this countdown the week P&J was announced eh?
CURSES

19
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Cynic - Traced in Air (Season of Mist) 126 Points

2 for 2 in the top 20 so far that I've still yet to hear.

Me too!

Not a Sunn fan, but I'll try to hear the Cynic.

The Sunn 0))) is terrific.

I liked Sunn live, but all of their albums have bored the piss out of me. What about this one will make me think otherwise?

there's not much you'll like about this one if you didn't like anything previously, i'd say. i'm a bit the reverse. love the records (particularly 'black one'), and was a little bit underwhelmed by the live show...

I think I don't have a good enough, or loud enough, soundsystem to play records like the Sunn catalog. Live, the volume made their music truly visceral; on record, I can't quite replicate that "gut feeling."

Just did an interview with Paul Masvidal of Cynic for next week's OC Weekly. Thoughtful guy!

A large % of what SunnO))) do is tightly tied in with the live performance and the 'spiritual' concept of the group. I.e. they started as essentially a covers band - an Earth tribute group - which was then gradually developed into a devotional gesture towards some of the key aspects of heavy metal itself, hence the robes and the mock stern nodding and all the palaaver.

So you don't often get the sense of this on record but on this one, the fact that it's live from Bergen Cathedral and they get to bust loose on the church organ and Atilla does some weird hybrid Gregorian chant/Yat Kha throat singing (along with the awesome packaging).

And at the end of the day what does it say about the liberality of Norwegian society.

"Hey, we've got Atilla Csihar on the phone. Him and Gregg and Steven want to play live in the cathedral."
"Atilla from Mayhem? That weird Satanist/nihilist/whateverthefuck group that burned all those churches down a few miles away?"
"The very same padre."
"Well, I haven't got a problem if you haven't. But tell him he can't have the 24th - we've got the Prurient and Christian Death double header that night."

I still think that after seeing them live (which gives the albums an extra resonance) you can't beat the Boris collab 'Altar' but that's probably because it's almost song based and a lot more conventional in some ways.

And as if by magik: SunnO))) have just announced live dates. I don't know how to put links in on here.

Just copy/paste the link and it'll automatically convert to HTML.

18
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Asva - What You Don't Know Is Frontier (Southern Records) 126 Points (1 Number One vote)

Terrific album, a real step up from their last excellent album, recommend this thoroughly to any fan of Sunn 0))) . This could easily have been my no1 album and wasn't far away from being so. Check this out if you haven't already. Especially the vinyl version which has terrific packaging --- pfunkboy

My Asva blurb: if you stand at Sunn O))) and face towards Altar, your ass is pointing towards Asva.

They're the butt of that joke.

17
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Leviathan - Massive Conspiracy Against All Life (Moribund Records)
128 Points

I haven't heard Leviathan but that sleeve art is most momentous.

the sleeve art alone makes this thread a must read. it wouldn't be nearly as interesting without the awesome cover art, that is.

the asva album is just glorious.

but I don't really associate what they do with what sunn o)))) do, really. there's a doomy element in there, certainly, but they have this vast, beautiful, elegant quality that's more in line with, say, eyvind kang or latter-day earth (which is a very different beast from the one that inspired sunn o)))'s crushing low-frequency abuse).

16
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Krallice - Krallice (Profound Lore) 137 Points

another gem...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I VOTED IN THE 2008 ILX ALBUMS & TRAX POLL AND I LIKED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (ballots due TODAY)

last chance to get your votes in that poll. Please vote.

15
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Caïna - Temporary Antennae (Profound Lore) 140 Points

Good placing for Krallice! I don't recall much chat on rolling metal 08 (which I think I read most of even if I didn't post a great deal)

Anyone wish to help out with blurbs for the top 10 albums?

Good placing for Krallice! I don't recall much chat on rolling metal 08

Yeah, there was a good amount of Krallice talk scattered around.

There was? Well that's good too!

There was enough Krallice talk that I redownloaded the album after having given up on it the first time. But I didn't like it any better the second time, either. I just kept wanting it to sound more like Leviathan, and eventually I remembered I could spent the time listening to Leviathan more, instead.

14
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Melvins - Nude With Boots (Ipecac) 141 Points

A bit of a shock coming up at No 13. One of the (so i thought) front runners for no1 didn't do as well as expected. It's fans on the rolling metal thread failed to turn up I suppose.

But lets build some suspense :)

I have a feeling I know what it is, but guessing now might make me a meanderthal neanderthal.

You like to wager on that?

Hmm, not now that you've worded it like that.

13
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Enslaved - Vertebrae (Indie Recordings) 145 Points

Didn't get any No1 votes rather surprisingly.

That was actually my next guess after Torche!

There's a bit of a shock low entry at no12 actually..

Would you like to guess/wager?

It has really bad cover art..

12
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Meshuggah - obZen (Nuclear Blast Records) 155 Points

Anyone got any comments on todays countdown so far? Any surprise inclusions?
I shall post no 11 later before I go to bed

Curious: Do people actually think the Meshuggah (and Opeth) albums are standout albums for those bands or do you just see them as solid releases from great bands?

After revisiting Vikingligr Veldi this week, Vertebrae sounds even more useless. I had almost forgotten just how incredible they used to be.

At least it's paying their kids school fees.

Sundar: I think opinion is split on the Meshuggah. Some think its the best they've done and some don't as far as i can tell. No idea whatsoever on the Opeth, but I'd be surprised if people think it's their best. However they might still think it's better than any other metal album in 2008.

11
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The Goslings - Occasion (Not Not Fun) 158 Points (1 Number One Vote)

And to recap our countdown so far (Rank - Points - Votes - #1 Votes - Artist - Album):

50 - 48 - 3 - 0 - Racebannon - Acid or Blood
50 - 48 - 3 - 1 - Zebulon Pike - Intransience
48 - 50 - 4 - 0 - Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Untitled
48 - 50 - 3 - 0 - Gnaw Their Tongues - An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood
47 - 52 - 5 - 0 - Bison B.C. - Quiet Earth
45 - 54 - 4 - 0 - Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness
45 - 54 - 4 - 0 - Withered - Folie Circulaire
43 - 55 - 4 - 0 - Metallica - Death Magnetic
43 - 55 - 6 - 0 - Unearthly Trance - Electrocution
42 - 59 - 4 - 1 - Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony
41 - 60 - 4 - 1 - Disfear - Live the Storm
40 - 61 - 4 - 0 - Marnie Stern - This Is It And I Am It And You Are It
39 - 62 - 5 - 0 - Darkspace - III
38 - 63 - 6 - 0 - Intronaut - Prehistoricisms
37 - 66 - 5 - 0 - Jex Thoth - Jex Thoth
36 - 68 - 6 - 0 - Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
35 - 70 - 5 - 0 - Witch - Paralyzed
34 - 71 - 3 - 1 - Hammers of Misfortune - Fields/Church of Broken Glass
33 - 72 - 6 - 0 - Ascend - Ample Fire Within
32 - 78 - 6 - 0 - Jesu - Why Are We Not Perfect
31 - 81 - 6 - 0 - Moonspell - Night Eternal
30 - 83 - 6 - 0 - The Gates of Slumber - Conqueror
28 - 88 - 7 - 0 - Earthless - Live at Roadburn
28 - 88 - 8 - 0 - UFOmammut - Idolum
26 - 89 - 6 - 0 - Moss - Sub Templum
26 - 89 - 5 - 0 - Wetnurse - Invisible City
25 - 98 - 5 - 1 - The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
24 - 100 - 6 - 0 - Ocean - Pantheon of the Lesser
23 - 109 - 8 - 0 - Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God
22 - 111 - 8 - 0 - Coffins - Buried Death
21 - 118 - 7 - 2 - Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday
20 - 123 - 8 - 0 - Sunn 0))) - Domkirke
18 - 126 - 8 - 0 - Cynic - Traced in Air
18 - 126 - 8 - 1 - Asva - What You Don't Know Is Frontier
17 - 128 - 8 - 0 - Leviathan - Massive Conspiracy Against All Life
16 - 137 - 8 - 0 - Krallice - Krallice
15 - 140 - 8 - 0 - Caina - Temporary Antennae
14 - 141 - 10 - 0 - Melvins - Nude With Boots
13 - 145 - 9 - 0 - Enslaved - Vertebrae
12 - 155 - 10 - 0 - Meshuggah - obZen
11 - 158 - 11 - 1 - The Goslings - Occasion

Tomorrow, the thrilling conclusion! And then a bunch of statistics that dwarf these in their sublime geekiness!

outside of I, obzen is probably my favourite meshuggah album to date. it's a perfect distillation of their sound - so focused and lean and sharp. I know it's got a bit of stick from the hardcore for being a bit simpler than their older stuff, but that criticism seems largely to be based on 'combustion' rather than the album as a whole (which does get pretty damn tricksy).

even so, 'combustion' is an incredible track. by no means the most wilfully difficult in their catalogue, but a totally storming, brutal metal tune that's still characteristically meshuggah.

all of the above surprises me somewhat, as I'm usually a proponent of 'the more insanely complex, the better'. but for me, they just nailed it on this one.

oh, and I agree. the artwork is crap.

not too into opeth... as for meshuggah, they're one of my favorite bands but that's a little tricky for me to answer.

the way I see it, everything that they've done post-destroy erase improve has been a gradual refinement of one kind of sound: rhythmic, down-tuned breakdowns in wacky time signatures with (almost) melodic, (almost) ambient guitar leads and a couple other elements re-jiggered throughout the course of an album.

all of their albums of the last few years strike me as samey but I don't mean this in a negative way. pretty sure I've posted this on another thread, but I listen to this band the way I would listen to autechre or basic channel records. the head-nodding repetition is a big draw for me.

but because of this, I have a hard time identifying a real standout. could be chaosphere, could be the i ep, could be obzen. I like them all, really.

I haven't been able to get into "combustion," actually. it's just... not what I want from them. I usually skip it. :-/

I would be interested in stats comparing this polls votes and Pazz & Jop. How many made both and how the high placed votes in one poll did in the other. And anything else Glenn can come up with :)

I've asked my P&J elves to confer with my ILM Metal elves. We'll see what they come up with. After the food fight subsides...

Are your ILM Metal Elves called Dio's? ;)

Ok I shall start the top 10 countdown...

Tomorrow (Friday)

i think obzen perhaps sounds better than any other meshuggah record. song-wise it's pretty strong as well, but perhaps not quite leveling up to the likes of chaosphere and DEI

watershed, on the other hand, is far from being opeth's best release. i still really like it, but tend to appreciate it from a distance rather than play it constantly. it really does stand alone as one of the more unique things they've put out and has some of the most vital riffs of the band's career.

Surprised, but very glad to see that much Goslings record! Played that last night and still love it.

much love for the Goslings record

wow i had no idea the goslings rec would place so high--i'll definitely check it out

I'm very pleased that they did. A pleasant surprise.
I'm fairly pleased with the top 10 too. Not everyone will agree with it but who ever does in polls?

I'll start posting the top 10 from around 2pm (ish) UK Time. So that some of the american ilxors can make comments as they go up. Probably post 1 per hour approx. Then Glenn will do his stuff.
I'm looking forward to him matching and comparing to the P&J poll.

Of the 10 albums still to be revealed, only one failed to get a single Pazz & Jop vote, and only one managed to get more votes from 577 P&J voters than from 30 ILM Metal Poll voters.

next?

10
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Gojira - The Way of All Flesh (Listenable Records) 163 Points

wow, awesome cover! worth hearing?

As I'll explain after we finish the countdown, I have scientifically determined a ranking of the Truest Metal Albums, which is obviously different from the Best Metal Albums. The top 5 Truest Metal Albums are all records that have already appeared lower on the countdown. Gojira's The Way of All Flesh is the 9th Truest Metal Album.

i think i'd prefer a list of the Falsest Metal Albums of the year. maybe.

honest question, fwiw: as someone who really dug the last Mastodon album, liked the latest by Opeth, and pretty much can't abide by Neanderthal for more than five minutes at a time, what should i be checking out here?

signed too lazy to read the rolling metal thread

Avoid Chinese Democracy, even if clearly some ilxors do like it . Never trust an ilxor!

oh man, i can't stand listening to Axl's latest temper tantrum. and, on a somewhat related note, James' constant whining on Death Magnetic is possibly even worse. (grow up already, fellas! you can't act like spoiled fifteen-year-olds forever!)

maybe check out some of the proggier stuff? like the intronaut, enslaved, and cynic records?

fwiw, the intronaut is the only one of those three I'd rate. I prefer the first cynic record and some earlier enslaved stuff.

yeah, i think i'd probably be more into some of the proggier stuff on here. where's LJ when you need 'im?

actually, you might be into the blood ceremony album. that's a good one.

myspace page:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=54091737

the influences on there give a pretty good idea of where they're coming from (black sabbath, jethro tull, pentagram, etc.) but the flute and female vox are just enough so that they stand out from the crowd.

did I vote for this one? if I didn't, I should have.

too much Tull, not enough Sabbath for my tastes.

(i believe i may just be waiting for Blood Mountain II or something.)

hah. well, then you're in luck. new mastodon is out pretty soon.

And isn't Blood Mountain 2 (though apparently is proggier but better)

9
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Made Out of Babies - The Ruiner (The End Records) 155 Points (2 Number One Votes)

"And isn't Blood Mountain 2 (though apparently is proggier but better)"

Lets hope so.

I liked Blood Mountain.

better is always good.

Blood Mountain is a good album, maybe my expectations were just insanely high.

I didn't much like blood mountain myself.

as for the new one... maybe it's because I'm living in obama's america, but I'm hopeful.

see, i had no expectations for it, and was consequently floored.

xp

Made Out of Babies and Blood Ceremony tied on Trueness. Or if you prefer Falseness, they tied on that, too.

I kind of liked Blood Ceremony: it evokes a lot of things I like, its a shame the songs aren't that exciting.

I'd probably recommend Grails to Ioannis, Sabbathy-prog.

I think according to Glenn's True Metal barometer I pray to the gods of False Metal, which is unsurprising. Made Out Of Babies was my #1.

I was listening to Grails' Sabbath cover last night. I want to say it was great but I can't even remember what they covered. I'll say Sweet Leaf then go look it up

Nope it was 'Black Sabbath'! Eh.

Yeah check the Grails album, it's not heavy or metal but is really really really good.

A bit of a shock (but excellent) entry coming up next at no8. Glenn has some surprising info about it and the P&J poll IIRC

no sign of Chinese Democracy yet? Could it be in for a strong placing?! o_0

Not mentioned yet. But i wont be saying what is or isnt coming (and noone else please either) so we can keep suspense going!

like i said earlier tho I never understood the ilm love for chinese democracy or death magnetic

or why they got in best album lists in magazines this year so high

infact i was even more underwhelmed by the Guns N Roses than the Metallica (at least it was better than their last)

hey, cool, i like the Grails tracks on micepace so far.

xp

no. 8...

...will be along shortly.... Feel the suspense!!

I'll give you a clue, it's not time for chinese democracy :)

It is a rather great album though that I would recommend you. But you will have to wait a few more mins to see what it is/

I'll post it sooner though if someone tells me why people like Death Magnetic and Chinese Democracy.

'cause they got tons of press?

i think i know what's coming up, btw. thank ya, whiney.

I'd hope people don't like albums just because they get tons of press.

I think people like them because, despite how not "great" they are, there are enough songs that flash back to each band's former greatness. I like the Metallica way, way better than GnR, but I can see the appeal of both.

well, it just makes it that much harder to avoid them (assuming you're at all interested in the first place, of course).

xp

right-o.

You're getting impatient!

8
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5ive - Hesperus (Hydra Head) 179 Points

^^^ What an unfortunate name for a band.

huh. nice title.

xp

hah

http://www.stargate.no/main/images/5ive-album.jpg

curses.

http://www.stargate.no/main/images/5ive-album.jpg

Hilarious...

Just for that I will delay posting no 7

i have to confess, most of the voting in this poll is completely bizarre to me. i like that 5ive album but wow that's a high rating.

Well, I don't know who all voted. I know I didn't, though. (Not out of disrespect for the effort or anything, I just forgot until it was too late.)

I think maybe my poll about them last year raised their profile enough for people to check them out.
ILX does have a spacerock division though, but it's not like people only voted 5ive on its own or just with other spacerock type stuff. It obviously must have got votes across the board to place so high.
Glenn can tell you how many votes it got along with other stats and the P&J stuff mentioned earlier.

5ive (12 votes, no #1s) is the highest-ranking album in this poll that didn't even get mentined in P&J.

Shame on Pazz & Jop!

i'm listening to them now, actually. great stuff! no vocals?

more

You should check out their other albums.

check out this dude's review on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hesperus-5ive/dp/B0011F18CW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1232731539&sr=8-1

Some more shock high placings to come

and the no7 album was my no1 album.

7
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Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale (Season of Mist) 183 Points (2 Number One Votes)

What an album! a double cd of the best crushing psychedelic doom/death you are ever likely to hear. Always a favourite band of mine but they REALLY raised the barrier on this. Not only their best album, but album of the year for me. A high point for UK Doom/Metal and quite possibly an album people will be discovering and being blown away by for years to come. If you need to hear one track to be convinced by, check out Circle.
Now all we need is the 10LP box set of their entire output as has been promised for a few years now. ILM, check out Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale NOW! ---- pfunkboy

You suck, gr80

Hi Grady!

Esoteric got 10 votes from us, but only 1 in P&J. From this amusingly varied ballot: http://www.villagevoice.com/pazznjop/critics/2008/685977

Anyone else got anything to say about the Esoteric album?
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I'm glad someone else knew about it. A criminally underrated band. It's a shame Kerrang ignores some great bands on it's own doorstep.

Estoeric was another one I downloaded twice, thinking I'd missed something the first time because people kept raving about it. Nope, still did nothing for me. It's not a bad exercise, though. I think I did that with 6 bands this year, and although didn't warm to Esoteric, Krallice or Origin, the second time was what I needed for Evoken and Wetnurse and Septicflesh. Yay, both directly and indirectly, for Rolling Metal!

I like their first two double-disc sets, but have never made it all the way through anything they've done since. I think it's me, though - they haven't changed much over the years, just gotten better at their basic sound, but I no longer have the time or patience for epic doom.

i like the psyche/gloom aspect of this ("Circle") a lot; not too sure about the gargling at death's doorstep bit just yet, tho.

I like that esoteric album but it hasn't quite grabbed me yet. I need to give it some more time.

right now metamorphogenesis is still my fave. hearing that and corrupted's llenandose a couple years ago had a pretty big impact on my musical taste... maybe for the worse. ;-)

and maybe they haven't changed all that much over the years... but there aren't really any other bands I know that hit that same psych/doom sweet spot, so I'm somewhat grateful for that. the best of their catalog also is the best of that style, imo.

Esoteric was another one I downloaded twice, thinking I'd missed something the first time because people kept raving about it. Nope, still did nothing for me. It's not a bad exercise, though. I think I did that with 6 bands this year, and although didn't warm to Esoteric, Krallice or Origin, the second time was what I needed for Evoken and Wetnurse and Septicflesh. Yay, both directly and indirectly, for Rolling Metal!

It could just hit you one day in the future. That's happened to me many times over the years, not getting it initially then loads of plays later, something just clicks.

i like the psyche/gloom aspect of this ("Circle") a lot; not too sure about the gargling at death's doorstep bit just yet, tho.

I think vocals do put a lot of people off metal. But the growling stuff you do get used to if it suits the music.

Bands like Khanate would have been silly with clean vocals. It just wouldn't work. I do tend to hate most cookie monster vocals in death metal though. It's not a genre I could ever get into really.

I no longer have the time or patience for epic doom.

Same here. Esoteric's fine, but nothing I'd ever want to revisit.

6
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Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1 (Century Media) 203 Points (1 Number One Vote)

11 voters here, 11 in P&J. I don't have anything else to say about this one.

It's great.

11 ilxors voted for it, some must have something to say about it!

Apart from it's an awesome piece of psychedelic influenced black metal.

Question: how well did the Dragonforce album do on metal magazines 2008 end of year lists?

This is the one I dutifully listened to four or five times and . . meh. Is this it?

Nachtmystium or Dragonforce?

The Nachtmystium left me cold as well.

Well I have to say I really love the Nachtmystium, music is great, and unusually for a black metal band, I love the vocals. I dig it.

Yep, Nachtmystium. I know they're the legends of USBM and all, and it's not a bad album, as such, but it didn't seem near as adventurous as it was written up to be.

Actually, it was the hearty spamalot vocals that kind of killed it for me.

the hearty spamalot vocals

Amazing. I might have to rip this off.

Ned Raggett's Spam-a-lot Pi

"We're knights of the round circle..."

"the knights who say Pi"

Anyway a clue for album no 5?

It's NOT Dragonforce OR Guns N Roses it's....

http://www.fraterslibertas.com/Images/Separated/pythonits.jpg

Bonnie Prince Billy wasn't nominated

Sorry, the Python references and the "it's..." made me think of that.

yeah I know

5
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/8/9/5/189598.jpg
Opeth – Watershed (Roadrunner) 212 Points (1 Number One Album)

Interesting - lots of people (me included) liked it but only one person loved it.

how many voted for it?

I continue to be of the opinion that Opeth just keeps getting better. The current incarnation of the band is really starting to gel, the keyboards playing a bigger role, Axenrot proving the naysayers wrong, and Akerfeldt's singing voice stronger than ever. Although I will admit that "Porcelain Heart" is the most ordinary Opeth song since the Deliverance album...

Opeth: 13 voters here, 9 in P&J. None of those from me.

seems strange that it didn't do better P&J wise. did pitchfork diss it or something?

dis, even.

It got mild praise from P-Fork, a polite 7.5.

Corny Pop Fuxors clearly didn't vote for it as their token metal album?

I think Watershed is a very slight step back from the heights of Ghost Reveries. It just doesn't feel quite as thrilling, despite treading very much in similar waters. Still a fantastic album though.

A band I just never got into. Best place to start?

I only got into them around the release of Ghost Reveries, then started working backwards through the catalog. I'd recommend starting with Damnation and Deliverance, two albums that really show off the bands talents and hint at the directions they'd head with the later albums. That's just me, I'll let the more long-time Opeth fans toss in their two cents.

Blackwater Park, Still Life, and My Arms, Your Hearse are good starting-off points, but you can't go wrong with any of their albums, really. Damnation is particularly great if you prefer the clean singing only.

I think Watershed was my number one album, but I don't remember. I agree that it's slightly distancing, but man, what a record. I think what did it for me is that it sounds like, for lack of a better word, "Art" to me, but it's something I can actually listen to as opposed to appreciate (unlike Philip Glass or something).

>I think Watershed is a very slight step back from the heights of Ghost Reveries. It just doesn't feel quite as thrilling, despite treading very much in similar waters.

I couldn't disagree more. I think Watershed is not only a huge improvement over Ghost Reveries (which I thought was basically a culmination of the sound they'd pursued on Blackwater Park and Deliverance, and kind of a place-holder at the same time), but it's also a major left turn - acoustic stuff, female duet vocals, jazz-funk breakdowns...I love this album. I think it's Opeth's best record, and exactly the record they needed to make in 2008. And I'm not just saying all that because Roadrunner flew me to Sweden to hear it, I swear.

As I said in my review: "After rocking out with the crushingly heavy Deep Purple-meets-death prog of Ghost Reveries, they've gone with what can only be described as a natural progression in a totally unexpected direction."

hmmm

Anyone want to know what no4 is?

give us a clue

http://tv.cream.org/images2/gaclue1.jpg

I think I have worked out the top 4, but will be offline for the rest of the night. So I will guess the order is B, T, E and HM.

And there you go. I guess I'm just holding Ghost Reveries in high regard because it was my entry point and the Opeth album I've lived with the longest.

harvey milk? earth? torche? bloodbath?

Bragonforce?

Buns N Roses?

Am I the only one that voted for Dragonforce?

Also, don't get me wrong, Ghost Reveries is freaking awesome. Watershed is just freaking awesome in a different way.

I cannot say. I'm not giving anything away or giving clues to what is up next anymore. People like suspense and not being told what might be next.

pfunkboy your like a rock chick tease

http://www.scotweb.co.uk/club_images/largeitems/sr_hotch_bra_pants_suspenders.jpg

Final four: She & Him, Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes and, of course, U2.

this isn't spin

That isn't a rawk chick

the question is, will Torche or Harvey Milk take the coveted #1 spot?

I voted for DragonForce, too.

well i couldn't find roxymuzak in suspenders on the interweb

The question is, are you over or underestimating any albums?

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http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/8/3/1/183173.jpg http://www.metal-archives.com/images/2/1/9/3/219358.gif
Boris - Smile (Diwphalanx Records/Southern Lord) 227 Points

ahhhh i just want to see #1 before 5:00 when i leave the computer!

oh wow.

this was the first boris album that did nothing for me.

what time is it for you just now?

Yeah, definitely my least favorite Boris album so far. But the Japanese version is quite a bit better than the Southern Lord one.

4:40

and yeah i gotta listen to the japanese one; tho i think their two versions thing is some bullllshit

It's a good enough Boris album (esp the diwphalanx version) but Smile and Pink really pale into insignificance compared to a lot of their older stuff. I almost voted for it but gave Coffins my last vote instead.

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
eastern time zone ... New York Fri 4:41 PM

oh i wont be posting no 3 til about 10.30- and it's 9.41 just now. no 2 and no1 will be after 11. Gotta spin it out, sorry.

so this is like foreplay not premature eJOCKulation

Boris: 16 votes here (but no #1s), 6 in P&J. I'm still puzzled that the Japanese version sounds more Southern Lordish to me than the Southern Lord version.

#s 2 and 3 were tied in votes, but 2 beats 3 on both points and #1 votes. #1 has the most votes and the most points, but not the most #1 votes.

dj custosian
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i have yet to hear the US version of Smile, which is probably why i voted for it. either that or the boring Nadja album was my lowest vote I think.

reminder of decibel magazine top 40
http://decibelmagazine.com/Content.aspx?ncid=140019

I'll be offline while Pfunk is posting the last 3, but I'll be back with lots of stats later in the (Boston) evening...

I'm still puzzled that the Japanese version sounds more Southern Lordish to me than the Southern Lord version.

This is exactly right.

I'm still pissed off I didn't get a chance to buy the Diwphalanx vinyl

I could just post no3 now while everyone's disappeared for 30 mins thinking I wont post it.

ok just poking my head in here for god knows what reason and WAHT

well i couldn't find roxymuzak in suspenders on the interweb

admittedly this is the only post i read

and yeah i gotta listen to the japanese one; tho i think their two versions thing is some bullllshit

Yeah, I'm pretty sick of Boris's act. Choose a mix and stick with it, instead of taking advantage the vinyl obsessiveness of SL fans.

The Japanese mix is cool in a Velvet Underground Guitar Amp Tape imitation kind of way, but I actually prefer the more straightforward sound of the US version. Smile grew on me quite a bit over the course of 08.

you are disappointed DJ Martian doesn't have such a photo?
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Time for no 3?

or will we wait for Glenn?

3w
http://www.metal-archives.com/images/1/7/8/2/178274.jpg
Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull (Southern Lord) 276 Points

19 people voted for it. No number one votes.

love that band love that cover A++++

i don't accept Earth as metal, but it's a great album for sure.

I've never really cared for metal before but some of these covers look too cool not to check out. I knew I shouldn't click on here, I was trying to cut back on what I need to listen to.

Most people seem to think the list isn't metal so don't worry about it a hoy hoy,. Check away and enjoy! That was the whole point of me doing this poll.

yeah for metal dilettantes like myself this is a godsend, thanks for the hard work!

i would have voted vertebrae no 1 tbh but i was discouraged from voting

lol. because i asked you to vote?

you told me i couldnt vote for only 2 albums

im no metalhead (though i somehow like to read metalthreads) but bought two cd's that fall into the category. i think they're the 1 & 2 here.. :)

i said i didnt want to encourage that incase people did it to skew the vote (ie guns n roses fans ). there was 268 albums nominated, surely you could have done more than 2.

I'll give you a clue to the shock at no2. It's neither Guns N Roses OR Dragonforce.

Re voting: I didn't vote either, because I honestly hadn't heard enough of the nominations. Metal lightweight. Still, nice to see both of my nominations got decent placings.

yes i said i was discouraged from voting thank you

*turns on heel and opens umbrella*

Well you know I thought you were just winding me up about bimble's drunken ballot of 2, but he said he would resend it with more, and he did.
btw he didn't vote for any goth-metal.
SO BIMBLE IS NOT MORE GOTH-METAL THAN ANY OF YOU

Ok I shall post no 2 in 2 mins. Drum roll please!

Ok I shall post no 2 in 2 mins. Drum roll please!

― Pfunkboy Formerly Known As... (Herman G. Neuname), Friday, 23 January 2009 23:28 (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

heh I decided to attempt a blurb for it
so here we go...

2
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41H4WtqbLDL._SS500_.jpg
Harvey Milk - Life...the Best Game in Town (Hydra Head) 357 Points (3 Number One Votes)

Awesome!! Almost on a par with their comeback album Special Wishes, Harvey Milk execute one of the finest comebacks ever by a legendary cult band. If you don't know the previous album or their probably even better 90s masterpieces, then go check them out now! --- pfunkboy

yes! and death goes to the winner...

I think I can guess what number one is.

Lets talk about this album, not what you think is no1. This album deserves discussion.

i'm sure there's nothing like this album in the rest of the metal top100, or is there?

I would say no. but I don't know every album in the top 100. Only DJ Martian would know that!

after downloading, listening and loving the shit out of this album i went for special wishes but that didn't ring with me like this one did. there's a sense of spaciousness one life... that's lacking in special wishes. but maybe i need more time with that album.

i think the cover is so cute

one = on

I'll post the no1 at midnight. Give those Ameicans time to get home from work to see it then the stats

Willem have you checked out Courtesy And Good Will Toward Men? that is their true masterpiece

No I haven't. Will remedy. Thanks!

but first let me find a 20 minute drumroll...

Or the ZZ Top influenced The Pleaser?

The early albums were reissued by Relapse and then got the vinyl treatment too. Or you can find online if you want to check out 1st..

So check em out

Is Life... available on vinyl too? Would love that. I ordered the cd ages ago but am still waiting. This is my first encounter with HM, consider me ignorant. Thanks again for the recommendations.

Not yet, I'm still waiting on that. Hydra Head are always sloooooooooow. They are like Southern Lord and milk cd sales for all they can then bring out 10 different colour vinyls .

Winner is obviously Cave's Hunt Like Devil.

My bet is on Dragonforce.

i reckon the winner is 287 on rateyourmusic for 2008
http://rateyourmusic.com/charts/top/album/2008

the top rated metal album on rateyourmusic NOT in the ilm top 100 is

Skepticism - Alloy

at number 15

A Runaway winner..

The Winner of ilxor.com's Metal Album Of The Year 2008 is...

1
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61tsQgcbeFL._SS500_.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/2704704683_8e51e6187b.jpg?v=0
Torche - Meanderthal (Hydrahead (CD)/Robotic Empire(LP/Pic Disk) 457 Points (2 Number One Votes)

This should be no real surprise. From sublime power pop to space rock to stoner metal to a freaking Ian Gillan-era Black Sabbath tribute, Torche threw everything but the proverbial kitchen sink into Meanderthal (although I wouldn't bet against one of those being in there somewhere), and the miracle is that it works beautifully. Even though there's something to appeal to everyone, the album's wide reach never dilutes the band's consistent vision. Superb stuff, and it's only their second record! --- J3ff T

From the ashes of Sludge legends Floor came Torche. Steve Brooks called it "Stoner Pop" the 1st album was a masterpiece and this time they made it more wide ranging,heavier in places, without losing the "stoner pop". This band deserves to be huge.
I recommend buying the vinyl version of this as the packaging is amazing. On a par with Earth's vinyl "bible"? Sure! --- pfunkboy

More pics of the glorious vinyl
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3292/2705526294_e195131a1e.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/2705525754_4f50349416.jpg?v=0

The pic disk version
http://www.earshot.com/images/torchevinyl.jpg

Now lets talk about the awesome music

nah lets just talk about that awesome packaging cause O_O

Do both!!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3292/2705526294_e195131a1e.jpg?v=0

^^^ pwn.

order of how much i liked the top 5 albums

1. opeth (only one i voted for)
2. harvey milk
3. boris
4. earth
5. torche (not a big foo-fighters fan, sorry.)

(not a big melvins fans either, which explains why i didn't vote for a couple of those other ones, maybe.)

CHUCK ZING

foo fighters (apart from the 1st 2) suck and I've never thought Torche sounded like them at all.

for the record / contrast...metal / heavy rock albums currently in the rateyourmusic top 100 of 2008 but NOT in the ilm top 100

25: Colour Haze - All
34: Coldworld - Melancholie²
39: In Mourning - Shrouded Divine
52: Misery Index - Traitors
53: Krisiun - Southern Storm
56: Ihsahn - angL
58: After the Burial - Rareform
64: Saint Deamon - In Shadows Lost From the Brave [apparently a power metal band]
75: Testament - The Formation of Damnation
80: Exodus - Let There Be Blood
88: The Monolith Deathcult - Trivmvirate
91: Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels
92: The Faceless - Planetary Duality
99: Pharaoh - Be Gone [apparently a power metal band]

Sorry, I don't know why I did that. It seemed appropriate.

Testament probably would have been high in this poll if it had been nominated.

Oh man I have the colour haze vinyl and the packaging on that is amazing too. It's their best album in eons but it still didn't make my final list (i had a list of 30 that i had to cut and that was one)
But if you like Kyuss style stoner/psych made by krazy germans then check it out.

yeah jeff. I was surprised at their omission. Guns N Roses probably would've picked up votes too if it had been nominated, just due to the fact some struggled to make 25 and most people did hear it.
Dragonforce I expected to do a lot better. I can't even remember where that placed. I only have the 100-1 list that Glenn gave me here just now that I will post shortly. Glenn will be along later with the tally for all 191 albums that received a vote plus his other stuff he has planned.

for the record...

top 10 metal / heavy rock studio albums on rateyourmusic for 2008

5: Opeth
Watershed

9: Burst
Lazarus Bird

10: Gojira
The Way of All Flesh

11: Cynic
Traced in Air

12: Amon Amarth
Twilight of the Thunder God

15: Skepticism
Alloy

16: Cult of Luna
Eternal Kingdom

25: Colour Haze
All

31: Enslaved
Vertebrae

32: Septic Flesh
Communion

I'd rep for the Skepticism. Cult Of Luna was good as well.

have BW&BK released their albums of 2008 list?

I haven't seen any mentions

Thank you again to all who voted AND especially Musically & Glenn with without them I would not have been able to provide this.

Here are some stats Glenn gave me and he will be along shortly to give a full rundown of stats including how it compares to the Pazz & Jop poll results that also came out this week AND A LOT MORE.

Rank - Points - Voters - Artist - Album

97 - 23 - 1 - A Storm of Light - And We Wept the Black Ocean Within
97 - 23 - 2 - Black Elk - Always a Six, Never a Nine
97 - 23 - 1 - Everon - North
97 - 23 - 1 - Legless - Finding Mr. Perfect
97 - 23 - 1 - RTX - JJ Got Live RATX
97 - 23 - 3 - Trees - Lights Bane
94 - 24 - 1 - Burst - Lazarus Bird
94 - 24 - 1 - Fuck the Facts - Disgorge Mexico
94 - 24 - 1 - The Lizards - archeology
91 - 25 - 1 - Gevolt - Sidur
91 - 25 - 1 - Mar De Grises - draining the waterheart
91 - 25 - 1 - Rose Tattoo - Blood Brothers
89 - 27 - 3 - Graveyard - Graveyard
89 - 27 - 2 - In This Moment - The Dream
84 - 28 - 2 - Aldebaran - dwellers in twilight
84 - 28 - 2 - Aura Noir - Hades Rise
84 - 28 - 2 - In Flames - A Sense of Purpose
84 - 28 - 3 - Kayo Dot - Blue Lambency Downward
84 - 28 - 3 - Morkobot - Morto
82 - 29 - 3 - Dir En Grey - Uroboros
82 - 29 - 2 - Dornenreich - In Luft Geritzt
80 - 30 - 2 - Ayreon - 01011001
80 - 30 - 2 - Candlemass - Lucifer Rising
78 - 31 - 2 - Helrunar - Baldr Okk Iss
78 - 31 - 2 - Pyramids - Pyramids
76 - 32 - 2 - Equilibrium - Sagas
76 - 32 - 4 - Tyr - Land
74 - 33 - 3 - Journey To Ixtlan - S/t
74 - 33 - 2 - Samothrace - Lifes Trade
70 - 34 - 2 - Black Boned Angel - The Endless Coming Into Life
70 - 34 - 3 - Death Angel - Killing Season
70 - 34 - 3 - Ocrilim - Annwn
70 - 34 - 2 - Septicflesh - Communion
69 - 35 - 4 - Motorhead - Motorizer
68 - 36 - 2 - Girlschool - Legacy
67 - 37 - 2 - Sex/Vid - Communal Living
64 - 38 - 3 - Cult of Luna - Eternal Kingdom
64 - 38 - 2 - Helms Alee - Night Terror
64 - 38 - 4 - US Christmas - Eat the Low Dogs
63 - 39 - 3 - Have A Nice Life - Deathconsciousness
61 - 40 - 2 - Brave - Monuments
61 - 40 - 2 - Deathspell Omega - Veritas Diaboli Manet in Aeternum
58 - 41 - 2 - Belphegor - Bondage Goat Zombie
58 - 41 - 2 - Conifer - Crown Fire
58 - 41 - 3 - Jarboe - Mahakali
56 - 42 - 3 - Lair of the Minotaur - War Metal Battle Master
56 - 42 - 2 - Trinacria - Travel Now Journey Infinitely
54 - 44 - 4 - Amen Ra - Mass IIII
54 - 44 - 3 - Cough - Sigillum Luciferi
53 - 46 - 4 - The Sword - Gods of the Earth
52 - 47 - 5 - Eluveitie - Slania
50 - 48 - 3 - Racebannon - Acid or Blood
50 - 48 - 3 - Zebulon Pike - Intransience
48 - 50 - 4 - Blue Sabbath Black Cheer - Untitled
48 - 50 - 3 - Gnaw Their Tongues - An Epiphanic Vomiting of Blood
47 - 52 - 4 - Bison B.C. - Quiet Earth
45 - 54 - 4 - Nadja - Desire In Uneasiness
45 - 54 - 4 - Withered - Folie Circulaire
43 - 55 - 4 - Metallica - Death Magnetic
43 - 55 - 5 - Unearthly Trance - Electrocution
42 - 59 - 4 - Blood Ceremony - Blood Ceremony
41 - 60 - 4 - Disfear - Live the Storm
40 - 61 - 4 - Marnie Stern - This Is It And I Am It And You Are It
39 - 62 - 4 - Darkspace - III
38 - 63 - 6 - 0 - Intronaut - Prehistoricisms
37 - 66 - 5 - 0 - Jex Thoth - Jex Thoth
36 - 68 - 6 - 0 - Genghis Tron - Board Up the House
35 - 70 - 5 - 0 - Witch - Paralyzed
34 - 71 - 3 - 1 - Hammers of Misfortune - Fields/Church of Broken Glass
33 - 72 - 6 - 0 - Ascend - Ample Fire Within
32 - 78 - 6 - 0 - Jesu - Why Are We Not Perfect
31 - 81 - 6 - 0 - Moonspell - Night Eternal
30 - 83 - 6 - 0 - The Gates of Slumber - Conqueror
28 - 88 - 7 - 0 - Earthless - Live at Roadburn
28 - 88 - 8 - 0 - UFOmammut - Idolum
26 - 89 - 6 - 0 - Moss - Sub Templum
26 - 89 - 5 - 0 - Wetnurse - Invisible City
25 - 98 - 5 - 1 - The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
24 - 100 - 6 - 0 - Ocean - Pantheon of the Lesser
23 - 109 - 8 - 0 - Amon Amarth - Twilight of the Thunder God
22 - 111 - 8 - 0 - Coffins - Buried Death
21 - 118 - 7 - 2 - Grails - Doomsdayer's Holiday
20 - 123 - 8 - 0 - Sunn 0))) - Domkirke
18 - 126 - 8 - 0 - Cynic - Traced in Air
18 - 126 - 8 - 1 - Asva - What You Don't Know Is Frontier
17 - 128 - 8 - 0 - Leviathan - Massive Conspiracy Against All Life
16 - 137 - 8 - 0 - Krallice - Krallice
15 - 140 - 8 - 0 - Caina - Temporary Antennae
14 - 141 - 10 - 0 - Melvins - Nude With Boots
13 - 145 - 9 - 0 - Enslaved - Vertebrae
12 - 155 - 10 - 0 - Meshuggah - obZen
11 - 158 - 11 - 1 - The Goslings - Occasion
10 - 163 - 10 - 0 - Gojira - The Way of All Flesh
9 - 165 - 10 - 2 - Made Out of Babies - The Ruiner
8 - 179 - 12 - 0 - 5ive - Hesperus
7 - 183 - 10 - 2 - Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale
6 - 203 - 11 - 1 - Nachtmystium - Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1
5 - 212 - 13 - 1 - Opeth - Watershed
4 - 227 - 16 - 0 - Boris - Smile
3 - 276 - 19 - 0 - Earth - The Bees Made Honey...
2 - 357 - 19 - 3 - Harvey Milk - Life...the Best Game in Town
1 - 479 - 25 - 2 - Torche - Meanderthal

Rank - Points - Voters - Artist - Album

btw, two albums that finished here that i really wanted to like, but didn't: cynic and moonspell. people kept telling me what a great prog-rock album the cynic one is (i think Decibel called it the best prog album in years), but i just don't hear it. (that new album by diagonal sounds like WAY better prog to me; cynic was okay, but mostly bored me, as much as i kept trying to convince myself otherwise.) as for moonspell, i like moonspell, have for a really long time. or at least i used to -- sin/pecado just barely missed my pazz & jop ballot in 1997, and i'm a fan of irreligious and wolfheart, too. but with their last few albums i've been increasingly losing the plot, and the new one, to my ears, seems like a drastic leap into averageness. my loss, i guess.

torche doesn't remind me of foo fighters. but they do sometimes remind me of big country. which is, imo, a VERY GOOD THING. anyway, i didn't vote in this poll for the same reason as roxy, but i'm glad to see that my token metal album of the year is also the ilx metal album of the year...

(also, thanks for doing this -- gives me lots of stuff to check out.)

i know, i know, i didn't vote in the ilx metal poll. sorry. maybe next year! i've been busy. and i forgot to vote in the pazz & jop! oops. anyway, for the record, here are my top 15 albums of the year:

Drautran - Throne of the Depths

Otesanek/Loss/Orthodox/Mournful Congregation - Four Burials

Execration - Syndicate of Lethargy

Septic Flesh - Communion

Brown Jenkins - Angel Eyes

Dornenreich - In Luft Geritzt

Blood of the Black Owl - A Feral Spirit

Cold Northern Vengeance - Domination and Servitude

Caina - Temporary Antennae

Impiety - Dominator

Mourning Beloveth - A Disease For The Ages

Velnias - Sovereign Nocturnal

Animus Mortis - Atrabilis (Residues From Verb & Flesh)

Ars Diavoli - Nihilo Esse

Winterfylleth - The Ghost of Heritage

Well the whole point of the poll was to provide an end list of albums for everyone to check out. I am glad people are doing or planning to do exactly that.
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i still haven't heard the torche album. i'd like to hear it. i liked the harvey milk album a bunch, but not as much as special wishes. i worked a day at the record store pricing vinyl in exchange for the fancy version of the earth album on vinyl. and i hadn't even heard it! good thing i ended up liking it so much. the made out of babies album was probably my fave indie rock album of the year. very cool.

as far as torche go, i'm a way bigger fan of the band their drummer is in, mehkago n.t., but i still want to hear the new torche. and i still need a copy of the mehkago n.t. split single with religious as fuck too. too bad i'm so poor.

http://www.noidearecords.com/bands/releases/covers/religiousasfuck_mehkago.jpg

i havent felt this nauseated since i first saw reek of putrefaction cover

i mean now i eat off it like a plate fwiw

but yeah that is a sick cover

I do hear a little Foos in the Torche, but mostly I find it's Jawbox and Helmet that keep popping up on Meanderthal.

people kept telling me what a great prog-rock album the cynic one is (i think Decibel called it the best prog album in years)

Ha, that was me. And I stand by that statement, too.

i'm with chuck on the cynic album. sounded old and moldy to me. like those dudes hadn't listened to any new techdeath in 15 years or more. i'd rather listen to just about any willowtip spazznoodle band than their new one.

I need to start a band called Willowtip Spazznoodle. Awesome.

brain drill album poops all over the cynic.

http://hidefaudio.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/thumbphp.jpg

Two completely different albums, though. The Cynic is barely metal as it is.