~~~ 15 YEARS OF ILM POLL!!! ~~~ (Metal & Heavy Rock [+ related sub-genres] Edition) RESULTS & DISCUSSION THREAD

110 Swans - The Seer 1372 Points, 6 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/Kl0kJow.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/6cl6u3OMuyObk20qBb1jbx
spotify:album:6cl6u3OMuyObk20qBb1jbx

shadows of the sun is amazing and i didn't vote for it either, lol. i just prefer blood inside that much, the compositions are staggering, like fifteen different kinds of music all being compressed into each other. shadows is in turn a gorgeous ambient-ish album with a really specific atmosphere i've never found in similar music

it took me a long time to realize that i have zero use for reunion swans. a lot of super intense build but with what feels like no purpose

I don't get Swans. Any of it. I don't think I ever will.

Robert Vigna of Immolation is one of those death metal guitarists that don't get their due -- he has some kind of hammering bending attack that doesn't sound like anyone else (I recommend watching any of their live vids to see what he does to his guitar).

Swans have moments of sound that are singularly wonderful, but they are never something that appeals for long. Whenever I hear them on the radio I'm pleased, but I would rarely seek them out.

Brilliant band and one of the few to comeback as great as they were when they left off.

Not very many bands do that.

I do however get the feeling the latest Swans album will be ignored on ILM EOY poll and other magazines/sites lists due to non-musical reasons

Let's not get into that here...

109 Blues Pills - Blues Pills 1373.6 Points, 7 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/6H54Bk6.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/46S8YoOhkWQhHKRCcvflfD
spotify:album:46S8YoOhkWQhHKRCcvflfD

Such a good debut album and the new one is a real cracker of an album

108 Electric Wizard - Black Masses 1374.7 Points, 10 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/owX2LfZ.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/7w7fmy8gRYMrXICyG2c8ai
spotify:album:7w7fmy8gRYMrXICyG2c8ai

This was an EOY poll winner. For some reason

I revisited The Seer after sending my ballot, would've had it pretty high-up if I was voting now. Tried with To Be Kind again too but am still lukewarm on that one.

Shadows of the Sun is decent but I only really like the first Ulver album (many xposts).

Because it's really good, but all EW albums get overshadowed by a dope album

What kind of radio plays some Swans?

KEXP! Also Bagel and another I can't remember the name of right now.

TOOOO LOWWWW!!!

107 Panopticon - Autumn Eternal 1378.6 Points, 8 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/YQ1tOYd.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/32lW13bcC2gaiS7Zke8rVw
spotify:album:32lW13bcC2gaiS7Zke8rVw

The first two tracks on Black Masses are amazing.

Wasn't this an EOY winner too?

No.

Previous EOY Metal Poll Winners

2008 Torche - Meanderthal
2009 Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions
2010 Electric Wizard - Black Masses
2011 Hammers of Misfortune - 17th Street
2012 Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind
2013 carcass - surgical steel
2014 YOB - Clearing the Path to Ascend
2015 Ghost - Meliora

106 Baroness - Blue Record 1403.1 Points, 9 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/wBKWvQT.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/7540tn9HKPt2PbPPyR5dRP
spotify:album:7540tn9HKPt2PbPPyR5dRP

jaaaaaaaaake legggg

Great record! Think I had Red Album higher on my ballot but it's close.

105 Pagan Altar - Mythical & Magical 1411 Points, 7 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/N7n6ncr.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/4eFJEjlYWtjedRF9W9nisw
spotify:album:4eFJEjlYWtjedRF9W9nisw

RIP Terry Jones

104 Om - Variations On A Theme 1423.4 Points, 8 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/X5iwv9Y.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/4EKVGx0MQQxHzJnDgRaPL8
spotify:album:4EKVGx0MQQxHzJnDgRaPL8

xxp This is a lovely album, but I seem to remember Spotify has the tracklisting wrong

Hey I voted for Black Masses. It's like Uncle Acid + barbarism x 1000

My main regret as far as studying or whatever--which despite what Kerr reiterated constantly, was not my plan for this poll--was not having listened to Blood Inside before voting. I like Shadows of the Sun quite a lot, and I probably couldve voted for it; Lord knows its spiritual successor, Coffins on Io, was in my top 15. But after the huge amounts of hype on ILX for BI--from being imago's favorite metal album before he met Adam Kalmbach, to being Brad's #1 vote--it is a little disheartening, in an abstract way, to see Shadows place so much higher above it...

For some reason, BI feels like the sort of album people only come around to when they're ready. not even tt had listened to it, and we're not entirely sure how that is given she's heard pretty much all other Ulver, and it's my favourite one (well, it and Bergtatt)

feel like shadows maybe got a lot of latent acclaim that blood inside deserved, not that that's a bad thing, they're both wonderful

103 The Lord Weird Slough Feg - Down Among the Deadmen 1433.5 Points, 7 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/E5T59ZT.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/6WELwbunK5vYuwofgJ8Y7c
spotify:album:6WELwbunK5vYuwofgJ8Y7c

Great album terrible album cover

Xp to imago: yeah I'm about to go on a massive arty black metal kick. I'm sure thats prob a great context to give Blood Inside a listen (Brad: yeah, thats def a thing that happens *links to Whiney's Latepassopedia thread)

Im also a little shocked about The Seer placing so low bcz it is such an album-of-the-decade mainstay. I think as far as albums that were in the metal polls thst also placed in the big EOY poll as well, only Uncle Acid and Goat did better than The Seer (and My Father will Guide etc) and both those were top 10.

This is a weird poll to be sure.

Lol dont read my last post, s'il vous plait

102 Jute Gyte - Ressentiment 1440.8 Points, 10 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/wDBEG2O.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/4FNzgspcU2PitpSR7b4oOV
spotify:album:4FNzgspcU2PitpSR7b4oOV

What's the best Slough Feg album? I've never really listened to them, despite trad heavy metal being generally my favourite subgenre.

Outside the top 100, for shame! My #6 but it could have been higher. I thought I'd let some other artists have a chance. It's an absolute monster. Best tracks are 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. 4 isn't bad either.

101 Cave In - Jupiter 1443.6 Points, 7 Votes
http://i.imgur.com/2PHwn4D.jpg
https://open.spotify.com/album/6gsbyHO9VVGEVVQMsjw5aI
spotify:album:6gsbyHO9VVGEVVQMsjw5aI

I'll start the top 100 tomorrow afternoon

What's the best Slough Feg album?

I've always been partial to Hardworlder. A lot of that, though, is because it has the killer track 'Tiger! Tiger!'

xp

Thank you for getting through today's lot. I hope you're feeling improved since earlier. There's a lot to be getting acquainted with, especially everything by The Goslings.

Jupiter was my #2, but I'm still surprised to see it place so high. It's more memorable (for me) than their earlier hardcore stuff, and Antenna was too refined. Jupiter is right in the middle, ferocious but melodic.

Some musings...

That Pagan Altar album is just wonderful.
Re: Jute Gyte, I'm surprised that Ressentiment placed higher than Vast Chains. Perhaps Discontinuities is yet to place.
Blue is pretty good, but my favorite Baroness album is Purple, which placed at 218. I think every album they make is better than their last!

Thanks for carrying on with the rollout whilst doing poorly, CS! I haven't been around for all of it but I really appreciate it.

yeah purple is the best baroness album

Cave In is kind of great :D

Jupiter was my #2, but I'm still surprised to see it place so high. It's more memorable (for me) than their earlier hardcore stuff, and Antenna was too refined. Jupiter is right in the middle, ferocious but melodic.

― Tom Violence, Tuesday, 13 September 2016 21:13 (one minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I agree, mostly. I like a lot of stuff they did after Jupiter (including most of Antenna) but this is definitely where they hit the sweet spot.

i'm one of those people who doesn't really care for cave in at all after until your heart stops but i do like some of jupiter