illuminatus917's Year in Review: 2011

[mankvill]

Man I really thought To Hell With God was great, much better than their last album!

[ShatteredFlame]

shit i didn't even know Starkweather released something new...and yeah u didn't even mention them

I've never heard of Overmars myself.

[illuminatus917]

Originally Posted by Spiner202

I feel the complete opposite of this. The vocals are way better than they were on Stench. Tons of catchy riffs (How Can You Call Yourself a God and Hang In Agony Until You're Dead come to mind). While I do agree they haven't put out anything great since the 90's, I really liked the new album and Scars of The Crucifix. And obviously The Stench of Redemption was enjoyable.

Originally Posted by mankvill

Man I really thought To Hell With God was great, much better than their last album!

Really? I didn't expect this. Maybe I missed something. I enjoyed the leads on this album, but honestly that's about it. There was just an intriguing aspect about older Deicide, and I'll never truly be satisfied until I feel that in their music again.

Originally Posted by hb420

Nice picks with the Flight of the Slepnir split and the Vastum demo. Both are really great, Vastum if it was longer could have taken the top DM spot for me.

The tracks on the Flight of Sleipnir split (by The Flight of Speipnir) are better than a lot of the tracks on Essence of Nine. And yeah, that Vastum is great. I don't know what Larv's smokin', there's nothing "meh" about that demo.

[slapguitarer]

I agree with you on the new Opeth.

[illuminatus917]

Jesus, there've been so many Year-end threads mine has been lost in the deep recesses of page 1 in less than 24 hours.

I've decided to do what Natrlhi does... in attempt to justify certain omissions, I will go ahead and announce that I have not listened to the following albums, nor am I going to before the end of the year:

Belphegor - Blood Magic Necromance
Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination
Profetus - ...to Open the Passages in Dusk (this one isn't released until Dec 31)
Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events
Dekadent - Venera: Trial & Tribulation
Heiden - Delores (Sorry HB420)
Red Fang - Murder the Mountains
Hammers of Misfortune - 17th Street

These are just some that come to mind that might've made the top 55 had I listened to them. List to begin sometime in the next day or two.

[mankvill]

Just sayin, I thought Skeletonwitch was way better than their last album!

[Seventhzealot]

Originally Posted by illuminatus917

Jesus, there've been so many Year-end threads mine has been lost in the deep recesses of page 1 in less than 24 hours.

I've decided to do what Natrlhi does... in attempt to justify certain omissions, I will go ahead and announce that I have not listened to the following albums, nor am I going to before the end of the year:

Belphegor - Blood Magic Necromance
Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination
Profetus - ...to Open the Passages in Dusk (this one isn't released until Dec 31)
Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events
Dekadent - Venera: Trial & Tribulation
Heiden - Delores (Sorry HB420)
Red Fang - Murder the Mountains
Hammers of Misfortune - 17th Street

These are just some that come to mind that might've made the top 55 had I listened to them. List to begin sometime in the next day or two.

Interesting. One or maybe two of these will make it to my list I guess.

[illuminatus917]

#55 Bohren & Der Club of Gore - Beileid

I can't claim familiarity with ambient jazz/blues. I came across Beileid the same way I come across a lot of albums: it was recommended in a review that gave a high rating to an album I thought excellent. So I thought I'd give it a listen. The middle track, "Catch My Heart," is a Warlock cover featuring Mike Patton from Faith No More. And it's the only track with vocals. This record is extremely slow paced, minimalistic, and atmospheric. Usually anything with a saxophone can acquire my attention somehow, though. One YouTuber pointed out, correctly, that these guys seem influenced by the ambient side of Burzum, and metal ambient aesthetics in general.



#54 Sylosis - Edge of the Earth

Parts of this album are normally what I consider too fast-paced (I've always preferred death metal at a slower pace), but the song structures overall make up for it. They mix it up with varying paces which makes it a lot more enjoyable and easier to listen to. I'm still undecided on the vocals. I think they work for Sylosis' style, but they remind me an awful lot of "brootal metalcore" vocals, meaning they're not particularly melodic or appealing, which isn't a good thing. The melodic aspect of their sound and the solos and the different song structures are enough to keep me listening, such as the brief tune found in Empyreal Part 2, but this album would be much more appealing to those looking for stylized melodeath with obvious metalcore influences.



#53 The Flight of Sleipnir - Essence of Nine

I've commented before that this band shares common ground with Agalloch, even though they're not nearly as good. Some similarities might include clean and black metal vocals, high quality production, a folk vibe, a doom vibe, and a decent number of melodic acoustic sections. The songs aren't even close to being The Mantle or Ashes Against the Grain type quality, but still, the material is fairly solid and enjoyable. There's also a psychedelic and stoner aspect to the sound. Nothing groundbreaking here by any means, but it'll be a fairly enjoyable listen to anyone looking for a band influenced by Agalloch and psychedelic/experimental rock.



#52 Ah Ciliz - Reawakening Ancient Sorrow

This is some really intriguing ambient, atmospheric black metal. Some tracks have their aggressive parts ("Oceans From My Veins"), and some tracks are more dynamic ("Creators of Time," "Ancient Mayan Sorcery"), but as a general principal this album is soft, passive, melodic, and ambient. And it's melancholic and depressing. Vocals are sparse. We do get some voice samples throughout, all of which are fairly distorted and indiscernible. The vocals we get are extremely effective, piercing, BM screeches. If you're looking to sit in the dark and contemplate the darker side of life, this is your album.



#51 SORNE - House of Stone

I honestly couldn't figure out where to put this on my list. At first it blew me away, then I thought it was mediocre, then it blew me away again, now I just don't know. I didn't know whether to put it at #50 or #15. I can easily see myself a year or two from now looking back thinking House of Stone was one of the best albums of 2011. It's certainly one of the most unique. Everything about it, including its reception, is unorthodox.
If you're looking for something different... really really really different... you might check this album out (a lot of albums on this list are/will be different, but this one is REALLY different). All the instruments used here are homemade according to Morgan Sorne. No bass, no traditional drums. The vocals are amazing. The instruments are I don't even know. I don't know what instruments I'm listening to. All I know is they're used extremely meticulously. What a sound this band creates. Anything from a rudimentary tribal sound to a rich, vibrant, overwhelming, enveloping sound. Topics include birth, death, nature; this is like the soundtrack of the ancient world. "These are the songs of five dead children whose voices echo and seep through the cracks of the American dream."
HIGHLIGHTS: "Silent Fall," "Coyote," "Gigantomachia"

[larvtard]

Originally Posted by illuminatus917

OH HAI JOHN BAIZELY

I really want to check some of this stuff out, but I pledged to myself that I wouldn't listen to any more new stuff from 2011 anymore because I've got my list finalized

[Natrlhi]

Originally Posted by illuminatus917

Belphegor - Blood Magic Necromance
Skeletonwitch - Forever Abomination
Profetus - ...to Open the Passages in Dusk (this one isn't released until Dec 31)
Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events
Dekadent - Venera: Trial & Tribulation
Heiden - Delores (Sorry HB420)
Red Fang - Murder the Mountains
Hammers of Misfortune - 17th Street

For what it's worth, Belphegor was surprisingly good, and Red Fang is fucking incredible (although not as much up your alley as some others on here, I'll wager).