2014 POLL RESULTS COUNTDOWN - ILM Metal Albums of the Year

I love how wonky everything is this year so far

A Pregnant Light - My Game Doesn't Have A Name 156 Points, 4 votes, Four #1s
http://i.imgur.com/F9TTOj3.jpg

spotify:album:4R17xrjlNhg72GNKtryyfz
https://colloquialsoundrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/my-game-doesnt-have-a-name

Truckfighters! I'd like to think if everyone listened to it, it would have been on at least 30 ballots ;)

thats #90

So yeah, obv Truckfighters was my #1. They tour a lot, I highly recommend their live show.

I have not heard A Pregnant Light.

dunno them but four #1s means we should all give them a go

I'm not a fan.

I think im expecting ASG style stuff (older shouty ASG)

never heard the name in any context at all iirc

songtitles and album art have led me to anticipate a metal version of Xiu Xiu minus the elements that I like about Xiu Xiu

liking it so far i must say. id buy this if i saw it in a shop

89 Conan - Blood Eagle 157 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/WcNvC1o.jpg
spotify:album:0cfQtHX71WkdUXX5J8Nrjo

I listened to most of the Pregnant Light. I guess those shouty post-hardcore vocals work, but are not for me.

I was super excited when the Conan album first came out, but then I heard Monolord which I liked better. I think Conan made it to the lower end of the ballot. I'd see them live for sure.

Conan album was more of the same really, pleasant enough though. Glad to see that excellent Raspberry Bulbs album placed.

What the hell is A Pregnant Light?!

I guess 4 people really really liked it. I've never heard of them.

88 Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestite 157 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/ca77V6E.jpg
spotify:album:3CZ1efJZ8G1hDBETkFuoxw
https://artemisiarecords.bandcamp.com/album/celestite

for fans of Tangerine Dream. Black Metal fans may not like.

seandalai you might dig it

87 Wo Fat - The Conjuring 158 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/YzmHlbe.jpg
spotify:album:2wDbLernQ1CHHesMpjb3bI
https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/the-conjuring

lol no surprise that a pregnant light is riiiight up my alley

Wo Fat have played Europe more than they have most of the U.S., as they've never done a proper American tour! I've been a fan for years and never seen them. I hear their shows are something to behold.

At first I thought Adam Levine was on that APL cover.

From my review:

A close listen, however, reveals a distinctly American mix of voodoo space jazz fusion, doom and blues. While they don’t quite do southern boogie like ZZ Top, they do have a groove. And Kent Stump’s vocals are both down to earth and somehow comforting. Probably because he could sub for Bill Barretta, the great voice actor who took over the Muppets characters Rowlf the Dog and Dr. Teeth from Jim Henson. With their name taken from the arch-villain from Hawaii Five-O, and album covers by German artist Alexander von Wieding that bring their sci-fi and horror lyrics to life, the band has clearly digested a ton of 70s references. But they don’t sound like any particular band from any decade.... "Read The Omens” pummels hard without being punishing. This is a good thing. A lot of bands in sludge, doom and many other genres try too hard to be hard, and may end up making an impressive noise, but also kind of a chore to get through. This is never an issue with Wo Fat, who keep the perfect balance of heaviness and musicality. “Pale Rider From The Ice” simmers with a slower, textured, doomy pace before picking it up with the groovy riff monster “Beggar’s Bargain.” The closing track is even more of a trippy beast, the 17:11 “Dreamwalker,” a couple minutes longer than their previous epic “Noche del Chupacabra.” It’s so good I’ve played it three times. Newcomers to the band will likely ask themselves how they missed this band for so long. Were they always this awesome? Pretty much. The Conjuring has some sort of secret sauce that makes it my favorite, but they’ve had the amazing tones, riffs and grooves for a while, which means a lot of people have a lot of Wo Fat albums to catch up on.

86 Karma To Burn - Arch Stanton 160 Points, 4 votes
http://i.imgur.com/e57iLtj.jpg
spotify:album:5djJ40af7FwP1Id0gV462c

A friend of mine used to play in a band with some of those guys. I last saw them a couple years ago open for The Sword. They get better every album!

legends

I thought A Pregnant Light might be the band with 3 #1s and not on the list so I'm glad it got the needed points.

I had it as my #1 and I've been a big fan of APL for a couple of years now. I can't remember how I found them, but I fell hard for the Live to Tell ep and I've kept up ever since. Also check out the Purple Pain / Ultraviolet-singel. Two great songs not on the album. Everything can be found on the Colloquial Sound Recordings bandcamp-page. https://colloquialsoundrecordings.bandcamp.com

this death penalty album is pretty cool, more up tempo than I expected

85 Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol 160 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/ISwrprH.jpg
spotify:album:5w7HEquNl4Pf4yM7dEu4tJ

Monster Magnet - Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol

is this a remix album or what?

I was curious about that too. I mean I gather it's MM doing the remixing or re-recording or whatever's going on.

Ambergris is the only thing I voted for that has placed so far. Curious who gave it the #1.

That could've been me. I'm really digging both of his releases at the moment!

84 At The Gates - At War With Reality 161 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/3u6Zngc.png
spotify:album:5cBynm0jngOdwnEzRVbiYx

Hahaha. Wow. I still haven't heard it but figured it would place higher. Is it that bad?

Not heard it and doubt its my thing but I thought it would be higher too.

it's good! it's oddly... relaxed

83 Rigor Mortis - Slaves To The Grave 161 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/lFuvT8Y.jpg
spotify:album:5dlmruPHYNx3athqj7HvJN

YEAH

too low but whatever

incredibly paced album, gets more expansive as it goes

I liked the MM album last year but wasn't excited about a re-do. Was it supposed to sound like more 60s psych this time around? I forget what I read about it.

wow, I guess I thought At The Gates was a lock for the top 10-15

also, that Raspberry Bulbs album rules

Metal Poll Rollout is just the best

xp It was supposed to have a "weird 60s vibe" or something, yeah. I intend to hear both versions but I've got a lot of other stuff in line ahead of them.

82 Hands Of Orlac - Figli Del Crepuscolo 162 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/QhYGzjv.jpg
https://horrorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/figli-del-crepuscolo

Got this bands last album but didn't know there was a new one til poll started.

TIE
80 Saor - Aura 163 Points , 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/NQ8JMDE.jpg
spotify:album:1BhdMkVHX7OGnAo1llUEmq
http://saor.bandcamp.com/album/aura

80 The Great Old Ones - TEKELI-LI 163 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/Zdg5Jj4.jpg
spotify:album:4AkPXVfHy7lttUDjEHYatg
http://thegreatoldones.bandcamp.com/album/tekeli-li-2

Think we will leave it here for tonight will resume about 2pm GMT

Yeah the new Hands of Orlac came out not long ago, kind of quietly. It was in my ballot but I didn't expect to see it in the top 100! Definitely a step up from the debut, with better vocals.

Saor is #2 in RYM, interesting stuff. Tekeli-Li looked like it would also be big on RYM, and it's #30.

RYM is not wrong, Saor is great.

Scottish apparently. It looks like mordymetal (folk)

Wow, I'm digging this Raspberry Bulbs album, had never heard of them. Very raw, sounds more like punk than metal to me, but I like it...