20.12.08

The Top 10 Metal Albums of 2008

The tentative list for Harm.us - the full write up will be posted after Christmas.

Honorable Mentions:
Mercenary – Architect of Lies (Gold Award)
Cynic – Traced In Air (Silver Award)
Amon Amarth – Twilight of the Thunder God (Bronze Award)
Evergrey – Torn
Enslaved - Vertebrae
Neaera – Armamentarium
Cult of Luna – Eternal Kingdom
Opeth – Watershed
Motorhead – Motorizer
Ayreon - 01011001

The Top 10
1. Gojira – The Way of All Flesh
2. Machinae Supremacy - Overworld
3. Eluveitie - Slania
4. Scar Symmetry – Holographic Universe
5. Daylight Dies – Lost to the Living
6. Martriden – The Unsettling Dark
7. Edguy – Tinnitus Sanctus
8. Arsis – We Are the Nightmare
9. Seventh Wonder – Mercy Falls
10. In Flames – A Sense of Purpose

Disappointments:
Children of Bodom – Blooddrunk
Into Eternity – The Incurable Tragedy
Satyricon - The Age of Nero

Independent Release of 2008:
Zero Degrees Freedom – The Calm… Before the Silence
Runner Up: Storm the Castle! – The History of Doomed Expeditions, Vol. 1

And, as is customary for me, I have ordered The Way of All Flesh on Vinyl for taking out #1!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I have always admired peoples' ability to know music so well (and, incidentally, know so many varieties of music, bands, etc) to the point where not only could they make a categorical list listing in preferential order who was better than who, but also have that much time and dedication and passion to the genre to just know it all enough to make such lists in the first place.

I am not a music person. More often than not, these days, I just listen to The Veronicas. And if I were to make a categorical list or analysis about their music, all I could tell you is this:

I like their music. But, I think both of their albums are basically the same. There is no variation in style or meaning in them. I see their albums as two releases of the same sound.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with this. But I don't think I could ever truly experience the journey that other people experience; I don't think I'll ever know music enough to be able to look back and say, "wow, Band X sounds so shit these days... they used to be good druing their drug years, but now they've just sold out to the mainstream and no longer make good music."

Honestly, I admire such passion.

My passions are for things other than music. I could rant for hours, but not about music. I think this field is best left to the professionals.

I'm also sorry to say that because I don't really get music or listen to it, I do not appreciate your list at all. It is meaningless to me. Not because it's a stupid list, but because I could never reach that level of appreciation for something like music.

Which is funny, when you come to think about it, because I consider music to be a universal language of the soul... and that's something I'll maintain ferociously until the day I die.

I have also decided to learn to play guitar.