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jimbies
Noose Springsteen

Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:52 pm
Posts: 4145
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:21 am 
 

Last year, I actually organized a poll, much like the Best album thread on the main page. I had a decent turn-out for the first year ever running it. This year, I won't have time to compile an actual database of scoring the records, as I have a lot of work to do finishing up a film project and starting a new one quickly in the new year.

If anyone would like to share their favourite non-metal (any band or artist not on the archives) here, I'd love see to what everyone has been listening to outside of the metal realm. I will post my person list within a week or so (I'm still re-listening to a couple of contenders).

If you cannot think of 10, no worries, just post however many you can, but please NO MORE than 10, and rank them in order.

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Unity
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2013 5:42 pm
Posts: 1886
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 12:07 pm 
 

THE PRODIGY: No Tourists
NINE INCH NAILS: Bad Witch
MORTIIS: The Perfect Reject

That's it from me. *shrugs*
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kybernetic
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 05, 2007 8:48 pm
Posts: 2169
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 12:36 pm 
 

I did listen to the new Nine Inch Nails and thought it was just okay. A bit disappointing I suppose, since I do historically like what Trent does with Nine Inch Nails.
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Kerrick
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 5:02 pm
Posts: 1414
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 12:48 pm 
 

Virgin Black - Requiem - Pianissimo*
Leonov - Wake
David Eugene Edwards & Alexander Hacke - Risha



*Virgin Black IS on the Metal Archives since their other albums are metal but Requiem - Pianissimo has zero metal elements so I don't know if that fits with your rules for this thread or not? Regardless, it's my #1 album of the year, metal or not; I highly recommend it!

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~Guest 427139
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 3:33 am
Posts: 75
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:29 pm 
 

1. Inade - The Nine Colours of the Threshold (dark/ritual ambient)
2. Canaan - Images From A Broken Self (darkwave/ambient)
3. Tor Lundvall - A Dark Place ('dark pop')


Last edited by ~Guest 427139 on Wed Dec 12, 2018 2:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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FirebathDan
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:32 pm
Posts: 1622
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:34 pm 
 

I actually prepared a detailed ranking hoping there might be a poll, but I certainly do not blame you one bit for not wanting to do all that work.

At any rate:

Top 10:

1. OddZoo-Future Flesh. Really out there mix of 80's synthpop, modern synthwave, industrial noise, and traces of indie rock.
2. Geowulf-Great Big Blue. Lush, atmospheric indie-pop.
3. Gost-Possessor. The most brutal synthwave album I've ever heard. Absolutely punnishing.
4. Habitants-One Self. A project of members of The Gathering, an exponentially more mellow and subdued version of their late period style.
5. Crockett-The Revenant. Just super well done synthwave, very reminiscent of 80s TV music.
6. Preoccupations-New Material. Expanding on their raw post-punk sounds with keyboards and industrial elements. Has a Cure-like vibe going on.
7. Belly-Dove. About as amazing a comeback as one can expect with a 23 year layoff between albums.
8. Metric-Art Of Doubt. A more guitar centric Metric album is always appreciated.
9. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones-While We're At it. These guys basically own the fact that their style is incredibly dated, and simply deliver excellently written 3rd wave ska songs.
10. Master Boot Record-Virus.dos. I do not consider this metal despite the Archives doing so. Nonetheless, this is a twisted and intense take on the MBR stye.

Honorable Mentions:

Hollywood Burns-Invaders
The Interrupters-Fight The Good Fight (almost made the top 10, just a touch too Rancid derivative for my tastes)
Keygen Church-Keygen Church (Master Boot Record side project, MBR style with a prominent church organ)
Master Boot Record-Direct Memory Access (slightly tamer of MBR's two albums this year, plus the vocals hurt it a bit)
Tommy '86-Freedom To Obey

Biggest Disappointment:

Nothing was too horribly disappointing that I can be specific, but a bunch of legacy bands completely phoned it in this year. See Alice In Chains, Interpol, Muse (poor attempt to cash in on the synthwave trend IMO), Nine Inch Nails (could be better, could be worse), and Smashing Pumpkins.

Best EP:

Envy-Alnair In August. Yeah OK, technically this is a single, but it is two of the most intense Envy songs I've heard-just completely pummeling without being a complete rehash. I'm hyped on a potential full length for 2019 if this is any indication.

2018 completely sucked for music. A very disappointingly mediocre year.
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Daysbetween
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2006 2:10 pm
Posts: 385
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 3:14 pm 
 

Kamasi Washington - Heaven and Hell

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IX Leviathan
Bepsi

Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 10:09 pm
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 3:34 pm 
 

Quality year yet again, had a boatload of stuff I could have included so this was pretty difficult to narrow down. I'd say while the highlights weren't quite as impactful as 2017, it was certainly on par as far as consistency goes. Some of these records I've brought up in the other 2018 thread, so a few of these write-ups will be reiterations of what I've already said to avoid turning this into word vomit.

10. Self Defense Family - Have You Considered Punk Music: This band seems to just improve exponentially with every release. Formed out of the ashes of End of a Year (much to the chagrin of many OG fans), Self Defense Family play a laid back, indie tinged brand of post-punk these days, a stark contrast from the more abrasive post-hardcore they were pumping out under their former moniker. This is an album that works incredibly well with minimalism and space as most tracks are just a simple repeated melody intertwined with backing synths or horns and simple drum patterns. But there's some sort of immersive, subtle beauty evocative of Slint, Tortoise, and even Swans to them and Patrick's half spoken word vocals/lyricism really drive that home for me, especially with songs like "Raw Contempt" and "The Right Kind of Adult". While I wouldn't put it above their work with Touché Amoré or anything by End of a Year, this is easily Self Defense Family's best full length and I'm very excited to hear what they come up with next time around.

9. Fiddlehead - Springtime and Blind: As soon as I heard Pat from Have Heart was active in a new band and they were releasing an album this year, I knew it was going to be making my year end list. Fiddlehead's amalgamation of emo and post-hardcore essentially fills the void left by the recently split Title Fight (a lot of this is very comparable to Floral Green). Pat holds his own very well with singing with lyrical themes much akin to Have Heart, discussing the hardships of growing up in an abusive household. This opens up a new dimension (to what is these days a normally formulaic style through and through) with some of the slower tracks and adds an underlying disposition of anger and melancholy which really shines through on tracks such as "Spousal Loss" and "Lay Low". Despite this, on the surface, it's a pretty upbeat record with rocking pop tinged punk riffs and simple but effective song structures similar to their contemporaries. This basically the soundtrack to my summer along with the above mentioned Self Defense Family and overall, a fantastic debut. With Title Fight gone, I hope these guys continue forward with more material in the coming years.

8. KEN mode - Loved: The 3-piece Manitoba outfit have yet again stepped it up and pushed the boundaries with their sound. Coming off the very Albini-esque Success, Loved pushes the core sound of that record into more abrasive territory, dropping a lot of the more melodic tendencies for uncommon time signatures and intense, sludgy, jagged riffs very reminiscent to the likes of early Jesus Lizard. Jesse Matthewson's snarled vocals are sadistic, vicious, and downright evil adding to the already foreboding nature of the album. The breakdowns are absolutely killer and work very well in tandem with the oppressive atmosphere. While not quite as immediate as their previous records, this one definitely grew into a favourite. Oh, and props for including a few saxophone appearances and not ham-fisting it.

7. Hop Along - Bark Your Head Off, Dog: In a genre so oversaturated, so stagnant, and so derivative, Hop Along is still shining through with Frances Quinlan proving yet again that she is still one of the best voices in indie today. This album is absolutely loaded with personality, subtle creative intricacies, and infectious melodies. On the surface Frances' trademark powerhouse vocals are the driving force of this record with very personal yet relatable lyrical themes delivered with great passion. Despite being relatively low-key and seemingly sparse, the guitars are constantly doing something interesting, with Joe Reinhardt crafting some of the most beautiful and memorable finger picked melodies and licks throughout the album. The refreshing use of strings and keys are another standout aspect, complimenting the album very well without being overpowering. All of this almost makes the bass and drums an afterthought despite both being compelling performances in their own right that really tie it all together. A fucking 1, congrats to an indie band not making a generic, derivative snoozefest in 2018.

6. Jon Hopkins - Singularity: I pretty well summed up my thoughts on this in the other thread when it came out, so this will pretty much just be an expansion of that. I did not at all expect that this album would meet my expectations after the legendary Immunity but here we are. This album is just so full of pulsating energy and life, never once sounding even remotely mechanical or vapid like a fair bit of other IDM albums these days. An hour and change trip of stellar, lush, pulsating soundscapes coupled with a few more downtempo, moody, modern classical piano pieces all capped off with that Hopkins' immaculate production job. For me, best experienced outdoors in a nocturnal setting, like on a midnight walk in the summer or something as this album absolutely envelopes the listener in a certain warmth I just fail to get from most other electronic artists. It breathes.

5. Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want: Absolutely worth the 8 year wait, this record is a slow burning pyre of anger, ferocity, and pure fucking hatred. This makes the abrasive nature of the aforementioned Loved look like child's play, as Daughters bring to the table 10 tracks of tempo shifting, menacing noise rock. The twisted, jangly guitars, the oppressive bass, the pummeling drums, and Alexis Marshall's unsettling, Gira-esque delivery all come together in absolute chaos. The production is completely on-point with the added synths and industrial elements giving the album a very jarring, almost hellish vibe from start to finish.

4. Tropical Fuck Storm - A Laughing Death in Meatspace: Gareth Liddiard's offshoot project from The Drones, this album delivers a mind bending melting pot of punk blues, noise rock, as well as hints of post-punk and psyche. Not totally unlike The Drones and many of the same facets are showcased here, with Liddiard taking some of the more contrasting elements of each album and smashing them together into a 47 minute long nihilistic fever dream. The album is also very politically driven, again, much like the a great of The Drones' recent output. I'll be interested to see in the future where Liddiard takes this project and what it may mean for The Drones but in the meantime, this is a fantastic records that can easily stand among his best works. Also, c'mon, that band name is just fucking great.

3. Birds in Row - We Already Lost the World: Another album that completely surpassed my expectations as I figured there was no way these guys would top You, Me & The Violence, a post-hardcore album I hold in very high regard. The French trio managed to outdo themselves as this record is packed with raw emotion and impeccable songwriting in, again, a genre that has started to wane in quality over the years. The vocals are delivered with intense passion and urgency, the riffs are driving and memorable, and the bass really plays an interesting, elevated part that I didn't expect, almost acting as more of a rhythm guitar role on quite a few tracks. This was a very pleasant surprise this year and I'm hoping it won't be another 6 years until we hear again from these guys.

2. IDLES - Joy as an Act of Resistance: Probably my most anticipated album this year after their previous album, Brutalism wound up being my AOTY last year. This time around, they've shifted to a bit of more upbeat, anthemic sound with a few of the tracks and it's more lyrically focused on social issues this time around as opposed to the blue-collar, middle class themes of their previous outing. Every single track on here (with the exception of "June") is just loaded with the same visceral energy that defines their sound and makes them a stand-out in the scene today. Joe Talbot's idiosyncratic vocals are again the driving force, shining through just as they did with Brutalism complimented by Bobo and Lee yet again churning out some incredibly fun and memorable punk riffs. While just a small step below in quality, overall it's still just as British, pissed off, sarcastic, and quotable as the mighty Brutalism

1. Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!: Parquet Courts' blend of indie and punk continues to progress as they seem to just be getting better with each record. This one is another mixed bag of influences from Talking Heads to The Fall to Archers of Loaf and meshes them together with their own brand of quality, southern influenced, guitar driven indie rock. Savage's barked vocal delivery and lyrics describing today's political and social landscape fit the sound perfectly and the riffs are incredibly well crafted alongside the album's more eclectic instrumentation. The basslines, however, are the real MVP here, and are some of the best I've heard since last year's Protomartyr album. The diversity and songwriting prowess throughout is honestly unlike anything I've heard in recent years. I'd safely say this album has propelled them into "future classic" territory.

So yeah, there was some pretty ok stuff I guess.

EDIT: Didn't have time to attach this earlier, but I did another one of these collage things as a sort of "rest of the best" as there was plenty of great albums this year. Didn't put a whole of time into it so the order is relatively loose outside of the top ~20. I know the OP said limit of 10 so I'll spoiler this and let anyone who cares enough peep it at their own discretion.

Spoiler: show
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Last edited by IX Leviathan on Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PorcupineOfDoom
Metal newbie

Joined: Mon Jun 09, 2014 2:52 pm
Posts: 161
Location: Scotland
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 3:42 pm 
 

Honestly haven't listened to much new music outside of metal this year, but I'm certain of what my top 3 is:

3. Tremonti - A Dying Machine

I've been listening to Alter bridge a fair amount this year (mostly Blackbird) and my flatmate introduced me to Mark Tremonti's side project around the start of the year. From then I was quite eager to hear what it would bring, especially after the title track was so promising, and the final product did not disappoint.

2. Scars on Broadway - Dictator

I've been a massive fan of System of a Down for as long as I can remember, and obviously it's frustrating to not have any new albums from them since 2005. Scars' first album was also fantastic and then everything went silent for years, despite Dictator allegedly already having been recorded. It isn't quite as strong as the self-titled debut was but the title-track, 'Guns are Loaded' and 'Lives' are particular stand outs that I'm sure I'll be listening to for a long time to come.

1. Rolo Tomassi - Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It

Honestly not a fan of most of the band's other stuff, the mathcore crap they used to produce was absolutely terrible. I heard a couple of tracks from the previous album that suggested that they were moving more in a shoegaze/post-metal direction but until one of their new tracks popped up in my recommended on YouTube I wasn't even aware that they were putting out an album this year. But my god, what an album it turned out to be. It took me completely by surprise but Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It is easily in my top 10 albums this year, probably even in the top 3.

Other than those 3 albums though there isn't much that's caught my attention. I've found myself listening to a fair bit of post-rock and atmospheric stuff but most of my new discoveries date from a few years back. Maybe next year there'll be a few more on my radar.

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LycanthropeMoon
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 11:53 pm
Posts: 2296
Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 4:02 pm 
 

1. Alkaline Trio - Is This Thing Cursed?
2. Turnstile - Time & Space
3. Vein - Errorzone
4. Pennywise - Never Gonna Die
5. The Interrupters - Fight the Good Fight
6. Gouge Away - Burnt Sugar
7. Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers - Bought to Rot
8. Night Birds - Roll Credits
9. Satanic Surfers - Back From Hell
10. American Nightmare - S/T

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IntoNevermore
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 11:31 pm
Posts: 1153
Location: Venezuela
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 4:30 pm 
 

I just made a detailed list I posted in fb:

01-Jon Hopkins - Singularity (Electronic/Ambient/IDM)

Jon Hopkins always makes music that sets the ambient for a journey full of soundscapes, a forest, a mountain, waterfalls and many more, this time he is embracing once again the IDM style used in previous records, but has a lot of hints of beautiful ambient bits that are reminiscent of his early sound, (Opalescent and Contact Note) This makes for a perfect combination in mood and feeling. One moment you are getting inside a rocket ready to set launch to space and the other you are lurking in a deep bleak hole full of water. Think of a Stranger Things soundtrack set in modern day.

02-Between the Buried and Me - Automata I & II (Metalcore/progressive/experimental hardcore)

I took the freedom to put both of these, because well, they were originally one big album, and I honestly think that part 1 is a bit weak without part 2 and vice versa. All that said, this is modern BTBAM doing what they know best, and that’s throwing tons of heavy riffing and complex lead work with sections from various genres without much actual songwriting involved. But you know what? I definitely buy it. There is this thing that happens when a band has their youthness involved in their songwriting, and with BTBAM this had a lot of impact, (See first 3 albums, specially Silent Circus and Alaska). But when they hit the stage of “Maturity” some of that is lost, (See: Skeletonwitch). But with BTBAM there were things to gain, granted, they more often than not sound like a parody of themselves and this album follows the same path marked by Colors with a bit of The Great Misdirect feel. It’s more memorable that Parallax, that’s for sure, and definitely heavier that Coma Ecliptic.
The thing that made me put this album so high is the actual replay value of the songs included, (But hey, you just said part 1 was weak without part 2 and vice versa! Consistency much??) Well that’s true, but something happens with these individual songs, they kinda reminded me to old BTBAM songs stuck in a modern BTBAM album, you know what I mean? Maybe not. Heh, sometimes I don’t even know it. Maybe I’m just a self aware BTBAM fanboy.

03-Dance Gavin Dance - Artificial Selection (Post-Hardcore/Experimental)

I can’t stress this enough, Tilian is the best lead voice for DGD. I’ll take ethereal, catchy and blissful Tilian over soulful Johny or cool and edgy Kurt any day. This albums has everything you’re used to when It comes to DGD, chaotic guitar work, nonsensical lyrics, bits of experimentation and poppy choruses. But this time their take on post-hardcore seems to have a bit of a twist. They’ve always experimented with their sound, but this time it feels like they just don’t care about anything and went on full with it. Intricate riffing is even more intricate this time and their hints of prog also come to appear a bit more often. This is something you can listen casually and enjoy it’s catchiness but also sit through and analyze the hell of it, like, most of DGD’s albums.

04-Coheed and Cambria - The Unheavenly Creatures (Alternative/progressive rock)

That last sentence I wrote for DGD’s album also applies here 100%. I’ve always been a C&C fanboy, but I know they suffer from having as much strong songs as weak ones in most of their records, but oh boy this is not the case this time. This album just might be my favorite C&C album yet, they sound so focused and ongoing track after track it’s crazy. The songs don’t get boring and are always hitting you with majestic yet accessible guitar work, epic vocal melodies and occasional synthy parts. This is one I’ve always the mood to spin.

05-Crippled Black Phoenix - Great Escape (Post-rock/progressive rock)

I haven’t listened to CBP until this album came out, (Prog post-rock from Season of mist? Gotta check that out!) and I did not regret a single second of listening to this. I am not a fan of psychedelic music in any way, but this take on trippy post rock with spacey vocals reminds me a lot of Junius with a tender yet more expansive and adventurous sound. This one is a journey you’ll never forget.

06-Tides of Man - Every Nothing (Post-rock)

There are many types of post rock bands, those that rip off GY!BE and Mogwai, those that actually play alternative rock with overlong songs and those that are obsessed with putting infinite build ups as much as they can. There are a handful of bands that do not follow any of those guidelines and ToM is one of them, maybe being a prog post-hardcore/indie band helped them to understand how to have actual riffing and still have that pure bliss effect. This is more Maybeshewill and Sleepmakeswaves than Explotions in the Sky.

07- Tilian - The Skeptic (Electronic/indie pop)

Imagine DGD choruses transformed into verses in pop rock songs! It doesn’t sounds appealing to you? Well, it does to me. This is not radio electronic pop music, But it’ll have you singing along in your car anyway.

08- Ghostemane - N/O/I/S/E (Industrial hip-hop/trap)

This is the sound of all the angsty feels of 90’s Nu-metal and 2000’s screamo with black metal aesthetics condensed in an industrial hip-hop album and blended with some Nine inch Nails, sounds cool huh? Well, not for me. But this is somehow way better than it should. Ghostemane has always been a guy that releases cool single tracks but not so cool albums (for me) but with N/O/I/S/E he delivered a full album that’s pretty enjoyable in it’s entirety and even if it ranges from trap to heavy industrial rock and it never feels inconsistent, that’s quite a feat.

09- Bliss Signal - Bliss Signal (Darkwave/ambient/industrial)

I am an Altar of Plagues fanboy (as you should too, btw) this electronic project is made of no other than AoP’s mastermind James Kelly, this feels like all the industrial/electronic parts of Teethed Glory and Injury were compressed into a single intense ambient album and I love it. This is like a mad version of Jon Hopkins.

10- Joji – BALLADS 1 (Trip-hop/R&B/trap)

Ok, yes, this is some music for sadboys and angsty teen memelords. But you know what? The songwriting here actually has a lot of purpose and it’s pretty well arranged. Those synths remind me of the best retro videogame style and the trip-hop parts reminds me of Bonobo and Boards of Canada, which is always a great, great thing.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

Denzel Curry - Ta13oo (Hip-hop/trap)
Daughters - You Won't Get What You Want (Noise-rock/hardcore)
Rival Consoles - Persona (IDM)
Rolo Tomassi - Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It (Hardcore/post-rock/sludge)
UnderØath - Erase Me (Metalcore/post-hardcore)
The Glitch Mob - See Without Eyes (IDM/Glitch)
Owane - Yeah Whatever (Progressive rock/fusion)
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Sex & Food (Indie rock/fusion)
JPEGMAFIA - Veteran (Hip-hop/experimental)
Vein - Errorzone (Hardcore/metalcore)
Trifonic – Emergence (10 Year anniversary) (IDM)
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IntoNevermore
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 11:31 pm
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Location: Venezuela
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 4:32 pm 
 

IX Leviathan wrote:

:beer:
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pressingtoplead13 wrote:
what those bands do is water it down

so you perfectly understand why people don't like the shit

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kluseba
Making Metal Archives Reviews Great Again!

Joined: Tue Sep 21, 2010 2:36 am
Posts: 897
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 4:50 pm 
 

This would be my list for top ten non-metal records of 2018:

1. Grimskunk - Unreason in the Age of Madness (Reinvigortaing mixture of punk and alternative rock with relevant lyrics)
2. Ice Nine Kills - The Silver Scream (Imaginative metalcore record about thirteen horror movies or franchises)
3. Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch (Industrual rock that is experimental at all costs)
4. Ladybaby - Beside U (Colourful, creative and dynamic idol rock music from Japan)
5. Alien Weaponry - Tū (Teenagers from New Zealand singing about Maori tales in a modern groove / thrash metal style)
6. Éric Lapointe - Délivrance (Entertaining French-Canadian hard rock, his best record since Ma Peau ten years earlier)
7. Les Trois Accords - Beaucoup de plaisir (French-Canadian alternative rock record with humorous lyrics, the band's greatest effort since Dans Mon Corps nine years ago)
8. Ragoût - Entre l'amour et l'pain (French-Canadian folk music, best enjoyed at a local pub with a few friends)
9. Emigrate - A Million Degrees (Side project of Rammstein guitarist, catchy industrial rock with interesting guest vocalists from Ghost and Billy Talent to only name a few)
10. Saltatio Mortis - Brot und Spiele (German medieval rock album with politically inspired lyrics)
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lordcatfish
Metalhead

Joined: Thu Jul 27, 2006 2:44 pm
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Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:04 pm 
 

Pistol Annies - Interstate Gospel
My album of the year. These three always make magic when they write together.

Kacey Musgraves - Golden Hour
She took some risks branching out but it was a successful venture. "Rainbow" is an incredible song.

Ryan Roxie - Imagine Your Reality
Great rock album. I wish Alice Cooper would utilise Ryan's writing skills more.

Pennywise - Never Gonna Die
Their best Lindberg fronted album since Full Circle.

Magnum - Lost on the Road to Eternity
A major step up from their last album, which has been their only misstep since they reformed.

No Fun At All - Grit

Fun punk album.

First Aid Kit - Ruins
A bit inconsistent, but when it's good it's very good.

Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer
Not quite up to the high standards of her previous two, but enjoyable nonetheless.
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PvtNinjer
Metal freak

Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:45 am
Posts: 4008
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 7:22 pm 
 

Some good lists here! Man I'd really have to think about it, but in no particular order I really dug:

Porches - The House
Soccer Mommy - Clean
Let's Eat Grandma - I'm All ears
Robyn - Honey
Richard Swift - The Hex
Foxing - Nearer My God
Kacey Musgraves- Golden Hour
Ariana Grande - Sweetener
Chastity - Death Lust
Parquet Courts - Wide Awake!

However these are ordered, I'd definitely keep Parquet Courts at number one. It's really just a stunning record. Love the lyrics too.

Want to also give a special shoutout to the Boygenius EP as well as the Jon Hopkins album. Struggling as to whether I should include stuff like Harm's Way and Cult Leader in here or my metal lists, but I think they are worthy of mention either way.

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Unity
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2013 5:42 pm
Posts: 1886
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 11:49 am 
 

Unity wrote:
THE PRODIGY: No Tourists
NINE INCH NAILS: Bad Witch
MORTIIS: The Perfect Reject
ARDITI: Bloodtheism

That's it from me. *shrugs*
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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35178
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 11:53 am 
 

Here's some stuff I enjoyed...

Jack White - Boarding House Reach
Eclectic, unforgettable songs and a dazzling blend of swaggering rock and roll, jazz, electronics and a bunch of other shit. I love his music and this is every excess dialed up to 11. Amazingly, though it's often more of a weird hybrid of genres, the brashness and bravado makes it kind of emblematic of everything rock is about.

Father John Misty - God's Favorite Customer
I didn't know how he'd top last year's Pure Comedy, but this one has the best vocals and production of his career thus far, and the songs are full of honest emotions delivered with stunning lyricism.

Beach House - 7
Dreamy, soothing soundscapes. Utterly enveloping and atmospheric. Gorgeous production - just transports me away.

Cavern of Anti-Matter - Hormone Lemonade
This release from some ex-Stereolab members is a dizzying, mesmeric journey through electronics and hypnotic beats. These songs fly by even with one being over 16 minutes. Just a labyrinthine void of sound and the pure joy of music.

Sarah Shook & the Disarmers - Years
Badass, rocking country with a bunch of great, no-bullshit songs. One of my favorite new acts around. Great summertime-y music.
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tomcat_ha
Minister of Boiling Water

Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:05 am
Posts: 5570
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 7:29 pm 
 

i havent really started thinking about making a list but Idles and Ken Mode both have a realistic chance to end up very high on my list. Idk yet about pianos become the teeth and birds in row though.

Just yesterday I listened to Orchestra of Constant Distress and think that might be year list material too.

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PvtNinjer
Metal freak

Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:45 am
Posts: 4008
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 6:51 pm 
 

Fuck, I finally checked out that Turnstile album out... might have to bump something off the list for this bad boy. Really fun hardcore, perfectly produced, tight songwriting, great production and some fun little melodic flourishes really make this a fun listen.

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Morrigan
Crone of War

Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2002 7:27 am
Posts: 10528
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:42 pm 
 

In no particular order, numbers are just to count them (warning: lots of synthwave -- thanks to theposega for most of those, LOL)

1. Dance with the Dead - Loved to Death - Synthwave / rock fusion masters strike gold again.

2. Resurrection: Panzer Dragoon Saga 20th Anniversary Arrangement - Very lovely re-arrangement of one of my favourite game soundtracks of all time.

3. Masked - The Dying Cult - One of my favourite newer synthwave artists. They have a whole bunch of EPs and albums this year alone, but I'll list this one (and maybe another one...).

4. Dead Can Dance - Dionysus - I mean, it's Dead Can Dance. They can do no wrong.

5. Les Bâtards du Nord - Racines Nordik - Viking/faux-medieval folk music with a Québécois accent :)

6. Carpenter Brut - Leather Teeth - See above, except, well, it's Carpenter Brut.

7. Octopath Traveler Original Soundtrack - Best OST of the year, by far.

8. Masked - Bloodlust - Told you they'd be there again. I don't know how they produce so much good music so fast, but I hope they don't burn themselves out.

9. Hollywood Burns - Invaders - More darksynth. Don't let the tags on Bandcamp fool you, this isn't metal at all. Just some nice dark retrowave.

10. We Are Magonia - Apocalypse Aaaand more darksynth. Hey, you were warned.

11. Maniac 2121 - 2121 - Slightly dreamier synth, less harsh/dark than the others but still very neat.

12. Masked - The Awakening - I lied, they're here again. Believe it or not they actually have even more EPs but I promise I'll stop for now. All 3 albums I listed are really good if you love darksynth though, for real.

13. King Stephen - Blood Night Fever / Nightmares - putting 2 EPs in one here. I'll let you guess the genre...

.... lol, only 4 out of 13 are not some form of synthwave. 2018: The Year of DarkSynth
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Von Cichlid wrote:
I work with plenty of Oriental and Indian persons and we get along pretty good, and some females as well.

Markeri, in 2013 wrote:
a fairly agreed upon date [of the beginning of metal] is 1969. Metal is almost 25 years old

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Lyrici17
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:20 am
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Location: United States of America
PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 4:11 pm 
 

Mine is a lot of synthwave (and the related) as well (Morrigan, you're going to want to check out my #1):

1. Midnight Danger "Malignant Force"
https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/malignant-force
2. Magic Dance "New Eyes"
3. Kobold "The Curse of the Ancient Abbey"
4. Dance With the Dead "Loved to Death"
5. Candy Apple Blue "Powers Activate!"
6. Nina "Sleepwalking"
7. K-Rino "Mightier Than the Sword"
8. Shadows and Mirrors "The Wild Life"
9. Lazerpunk "Death & Glory"
10. Mlada Fronta "No Trespassing"
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BasqueStorm
The Wettest Blanket

Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 2:21 pm
Posts: 4793
Location: Turks and Caicos Islands
PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 4:29 pm 
 

Unity wrote:
THE PRODIGY: No Tourists

Thanks for this. :beer:

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Zephirus
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2005 1:37 pm
Posts: 575
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 6:51 pm 
 

i liked a couple

johnny marr - call the comet : standout track is 'hi hello' more melodies and catchier songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT_IlY0A4_0

death cab for cutie - thankyou for today : mostly good tracks and reminds me of old DCFC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y48EIFVdbzo

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jimbies
Noose Springsteen

Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:52 pm
Posts: 4145
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 10:06 pm 
 

Zephirus wrote:
death cab for cutie - thankyou for today : mostly good tracks and reminds me of old DCFC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y48EIFVdbzo


When We Drive might be one of my favourite DCFC songs, ever.

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Unity
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2013 5:42 pm
Posts: 1886
Location: Portugal
PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 1:04 pm 
 

BasqueStorm wrote:
Unity wrote:
THE PRODIGY: No Tourists

Thanks for this. :beer:


You're welcome! :p ;)
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Morrigan
Crone of War

Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2002 7:27 am
Posts: 10528
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 6:57 pm 
 

Lyrici17 wrote:
Mine is a lot of synthwave (and the related) as well (Morrigan, you're going to want to check out my #1):

1. Midnight Danger "Malignant Force"
https://newretrowave.bandcamp.com/album/malignant-force

Aight, listening.
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Von Cichlid wrote:
I work with plenty of Oriental and Indian persons and we get along pretty good, and some females as well.

Markeri, in 2013 wrote:
a fairly agreed upon date [of the beginning of metal] is 1969. Metal is almost 25 years old

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Trve
Mallcore Kid

Joined: Fri Dec 14, 2018 9:09 pm
Posts: 3
Location: United States
PostPosted: Fri Dec 14, 2018 9:14 pm 
 

Shibalba- Stars Al-Med Hum

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Electric Death
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed May 13, 2015 4:38 pm
Posts: 144
PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 5:18 am 
 

Glad to see love for Jpegmafia - Veteran here. He's definitely one of the best beatmakers out there. His industrial/trap/noise sound isn't supposed to be catchy but it is. Good songwriting.

Surprised no one mentioned Death Grips yet. This is probably their most polarizing record so far. It's their wackiest, most experimental, and has one of their catchiest tracks ever (Death Grips is Online).

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ObservationSlave
Metalhead

Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2010 6:27 pm
Posts: 1110
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 10:50 pm 
 

My list is almost entirely instrumental progressive/post-rock stuff.

1. Plini - Sunhead (EP)
2. Long Distance Calling - Boundless
3. Somali Yacht Club - The Sea
4. Distant Dream - Your Own Story
5. Night Verses - From the Gallery of Sleep
6. Rocket Miner - The Long Goodbye
7. Modern Day Babylon - COMA
8. Crevassian - Crevassian (EP)
9. Mountaineer - Passages
10. Skyharbor - Sunshine Dust

Not sure how we are handling EPs, but if I made a list of just full lengths the next two would be covet - effloresce and then Tremonti - A Dying Machine.

Long Distance Calling and Night Verses were the biggest surprises for me since I thought most of the older material from both bands was just alright. I was also really impressed with Tremonti's A Dying Machine, which I think is his best record yet and better than anything he has done with Alter Bridge.

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~Guest 277521
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 9:42 am
Posts: 263
PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2018 5:09 pm 
 

The ZNR boxset of all their recordings is pretty high up there. For fans of quirky RIO or Érik Satie on LSD.
Nik Bartsch's Ronin - Awase is also high up. It's not my favorite recording by them, but it's still very very solid.
John Zorn - Book of Beriah is an absolutely amazing end to Zorn's 300 composition song book. Every CD in the box is absolutely amazing.

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arnvidr
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 5:51 pm
Posts: 113
PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 8:22 am 
 

Most of the non-metal stuff I've enjoyed this year has already been mentioned, but I also liked this archival release of a 2006 performance:

Keith Jarrett ‎– La Fenice

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ingmar birdman
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:23 am
Posts: 207
Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:24 am 
 

My non-metal listening was mostly old neofolk bands putting out new albums, with special emphasis on the amazing Sol Invictus album from earlier this year. That Sophie album is a trip too, I would recommend it to anyone that likes weirdo electronic pop.

1. Sol Invictus - Necropolis
2. Qual - The Ultimate Climax
3. xxxtentacion - ?
4. Beach House - 7
5. Sophie - Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides
6. Current 93 - The Light is Leaving Us All
7. Death in June - Essence!
8. Lebanon Hanover - Alien
9. Dead Can Dance - Dionysus
10. Ariana Grande - Sweetener

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Morrigan
Crone of War

Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2002 7:27 am
Posts: 10528
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 3:38 am 
 

Oh shit I was so much into synthwave this year that I didn't pay any attention to neofolk... I gotta check out that new Sol Invictus then!
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Von Cichlid wrote:
I work with plenty of Oriental and Indian persons and we get along pretty good, and some females as well.

Markeri, in 2013 wrote:
a fairly agreed upon date [of the beginning of metal] is 1969. Metal is almost 25 years old

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ingmar birdman
Metal newbie

Joined: Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:23 am
Posts: 207
Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 10:12 am 
 

Morrigan wrote:
Oh shit I was so much into synthwave this year that I didn't pay any attention to neofolk... I gotta check out that new Sol Invictus then!


Enjoy it! It's a really strange and beautiful album. You might like that Qual album too speaking of synthwave, it's one half of Lebanon Hanover, but with more of a dark synthwave vibe.

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BasqueStorm
The Wettest Blanket

Joined: Wed May 26, 2010 2:21 pm
Posts: 4793
Location: Turks and Caicos Islands
PostPosted: Wed Dec 19, 2018 3:06 pm 
 

Unity wrote:
You're welcome! :p ;)

:beer:

ingmar birdman wrote:
1. Sol Invictus - Necropolis
9. Dead Can Dance - Dionysus

And for those too. :beer:

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PvtNinjer
Metal freak

Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 12:45 am
Posts: 4008
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:26 pm 
 

Yeah that SOPHIE album is a killer.

There's a ton of non metal stuff from like pre summer/summer time that I just straight up forgot, stuff like the new Iceage Beyondlesss, which is really quite good.

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Element_man
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2005 2:37 am
Posts: 1021
Location: Vancouver, Canada
PostPosted: Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:52 pm 
 

I got really into the Nu-Jazz thing this year. Lots of great artists coming out of London lately.

Enjoyed new music from:

Alfa Mist (Kind of ambient in texture but loads of interest in harmony, melody and rhythm)
Nubya Garcia (My favourite newer saxophonist. Killer use of the hip-hop beats with the jazz harmonies)
Sean Khan (not the best I heard this year but some strong moments. Thicker instrumentation, good sax lines)
Kamaal Williams (Very relaxing and lots of smooth chords. Great for reading/working)
Mansur Brown (Lots of spacy model jams with Thundercat on bass)
Maisha (Lush and ambitious. Reminds me a lot of Mahavishnu's more orchestral stuff)
Ill Considered (Very loose, mostly free jams with a handful of written themes tying it together)
Yussef Dayes (My favourite new drummer. Amazing collabs with Alfa Mist and Mansur Brown)
1000 Kings (Wild and frenetic but also kind of sparse and minimalist in the instrumentation)

My "big three" of non-metal all released albums this year: Al Di Meola, Chick Corea and John McLaughlin.

The new album from Al Di Meola is pretty good. Very lush and lots of production. Pretty daring in some of the rhythmic elements with his signature sense of drama in the melodies and chord changes. Lots of acoustic and clean stuff with distorted guitars used more for effect. Not of a lot of high-octane speed picking, but there's a few moments of it that sneak in like a wry sideways glance.

I have yet to hear the two new Chick Corea albums but I'll get on that soon. John McLaughlin did a live album with Jimmy Herring where they each did a set with their respective bands and then came together for a 3rd set of Mahavishnu Orchestra tunes. Fantastic tour, saw them in Seattle. Looking forward to getting the album and reliving the experience a bit.
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MetlaNZ
Veteran

Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 6:45 pm
Posts: 2695
Location: Lost in Necropolis
PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 3:23 am 
 

Cancerslug "Beating A Dead Whore" - The epitome of DIY don't give a fuck FTW Punk
Supersuckers "Suck It" - The Greatest Rock N Roll Band In The World!
Violation Wound "With Man In Charge" - Intense Punk rock from Chris Reifert (Autopsy/Abscess)

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jimbies
Noose Springsteen

Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:52 pm
Posts: 4145
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 10:49 am 
 

My list, in order:

1. Pusha T - DAYTONA
2. Kalle Mattson - Youth.
3. Brian Fallon - Sleepwalkers
4. Vince Staples - FM!
5. Eric Church - Desperate Man
6. YG - Stay Dangerous
7. Marissa Nadler - For My Crimes
8. Kids See Ghosts - Kids See Ghosts
9. The 1975 - A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships
10. Phosphorescent - C'est La Vie

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FirebathDan
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:32 pm
Posts: 1622
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:32 pm 
 

IntoNevermore wrote:
02-Between the Buried and Me - Automata I & II (Metalcore/progressive/experimental hardcore)

I took the freedom to put both of these, because well, they were originally one big album, and I honestly think that part 1 is a bit weak without part 2 and vice versa. All that said, this is modern BTBAM doing what they know best, and that’s throwing tons of heavy riffing and complex lead work with sections from various genres without much actual songwriting involved. But you know what? I definitely buy it. There is this thing that happens when a band has their youthness involved in their songwriting, and with BTBAM this had a lot of impact, (See first 3 albums, specially Silent Circus and Alaska). But when they hit the stage of “Maturity” some of that is lost, (See: Skeletonwitch). But with BTBAM there were things to gain, granted, they more often than not sound like a parody of themselves and this album follows the same path marked by Colors with a bit of The Great Misdirect feel. It’s more memorable that Parallax, that’s for sure, and definitely heavier that Coma Ecliptic.
The thing that made me put this album so high is the actual replay value of the songs included, (But hey, you just said part 1 was weak without part 2 and vice versa! Consistency much??) Well that’s true, but something happens with these individual songs, they kinda reminded me to old BTBAM songs stuck in a modern BTBAM album, you know what I mean? Maybe not. Heh, sometimes I don’t even know it. Maybe I’m just a self aware BTBAM fanboy.


I have to back this up, as these albums are incredible. BTBAM are in a sort of limbo among the base here because-in my personal view, and in my personal view only-these guys qualify as metal, but obviously site management disagrees (fine by me). As such, I don't feel comfortable putting them in my list for this thread, but also cannot include them in my metal list either (sort of the inverse of how I handled Master Boot record earlier in this thread). To my ears, these guys are essentially hitting Dream Theater level instrumentals at this point, and Blake Anderson in particular puts forth a god-like performance on these albums. These guys certainly deserve much more in the way of respect and recognition among the user base here (note: I am not saying recognition as metal for the purposes of the site).

Quote:
06-Tides of Man - Every Nothing (Post-rock)

There are many types of post rock bands, those that rip off GY!BE and Mogwai, those that actually play alternative rock with overlong songs and those that are obsessed with putting infinite build ups as much as they can. There are a handful of bands that do not follow any of those guidelines and ToM is one of them, maybe being a prog post-hardcore/indie band helped them to understand how to have actual riffing and still have that pure bliss effect. This is more Maybeshewill and Sleepmakeswaves than Explotions in the Sky.


This sounds really interesting, and I am going to check it out relatively soon.

Unity wrote:
NINE INCH NAILS: Bad Witch

kluseba wrote:
3. Nine Inch Nails - Bad Witch (Industrual rock that is experimental at all costs)


The fact that this has come up more than once as a top record leads me to believe that I might have blown this off too quickly and perhaps I should re-investigate.

IX Leviathan wrote:
Spoiler: show
Image


You did this last year, and I thought it was cool then, and I do now as well.
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