New Year’s Eve is approaching and it is time of traditional the Albums of the Year list. Every time when I try to think in advance what albums might be in list, I get some but luckily there are always some surprises. This year is a little bit different, mostly because I wasn’t that active discovering new stuff and partly because I’m getting old and stuck to the music I already know. That is bit sad and I’ll try to generate more interesting list for the next year. Anyway, here’s what I really dug in 2018.
1. Mastodon – Emperor of the Sun
This was by far my most listened album in this year. Everything I like in this band is present: catchy and complicated metal with progressive twist. Lyrics are meaningful, riffs makes my head nod and some of the guitar solos touch my heart deep. Mastodon album art has been flawless throughout their discography and this made no exception. The final seal for victory came from their amazing live performance in Tuska Open Air festival.
2. The Haunted – Strength in Numbers
The second position was particularly difficult. I decided finally to go with The Haunted. Many people think that Peter Dolvig was better and more interesting vocalist. They might be right, but that Aro is back in vocals, the edge is back in The Haunted’s music. This is your pissed off head banging metal that is always needed.
3. Foo Fighters – Concrete and Steel
Purely based on the play counts and I also liked this new album and they were so great live performers.
4. Immolation – Atonement
Are these guys even able to compose bad album? This was at first somewhat flat without any obvious hit songs (if such term can be used in this occasion). More careful listening however revealed the potential. This will be in my playlist many times in the future.
5. Annihilator – For the Demented
I can’t help myself, I’m a sucker what comes to this band and the Jeff’s guitar work. Absolutely the most hilarious ballad lyrics of all time is in song Pieces of You.
6. Enslaved – E
Another band whose album I buy blindly because I never heard a bad song. They continued toward the progressive path they’ve taken from the Ruun and I can’t complain. Brilliant album, which takes some listening to get into it. Also the most impressive opening I’ve heard in a long time
7. Archspire – Relentless Mutation
This is brilliant technical death metal. Their previous album became my favorite and I had huge expectations toward this record. It easily redeemed them all! These guys can invent riffs you wouldn’t believe.
8. Body Count – Bloodlust
Personally I’m not a huge rap or rap core fan, but this album was so much fun when it came out that I had to include it to my list. “I gotta get paid the ski mask way”…
9. Cannibal Corpse – Red Before Black
They can put that difficult-to-define groove in their music that only a few death metal bands are able to accomplish. Not perhaps as good as the Skeletal Domain, but I enjoyed this quite a lot.
10. Devin Townsend Project – The Transcendence
The best DTP album in a long time. The guitar solo Devin played in The Failure at Circus live gig was one of the top gig moments of the year 2017.
The best EP of 2017
Mastodon - Dark Cold Place
This was the year of Mastodon. This EP simply seals the fact.
