mastodon421's End of the Year Shit That No One Cares About List-A-Thon!

[mastodon421]

(I figured I'd spare everyone a picture of a dick, so I'm not posting the album cover)
22.Death Grips-No Love Deep Web
The lesser of the two Death Grips records released this year, but it's still a noteworthy release. What i dug most about this record was the mixture of the raw sound of Exmillitary with the more polished production of The Money Store. The beats are more subtle (but still great) which makes MC Ride's rapping more audible, which is cool after he was kind of pushed into the background on The Money Store. The beats aren't always subtle though, There are still plenty of bangers like "No Love" and "Come Up and Get Me" where the beats are bassy and in-your face and MC Ride is screaming his fucking lungs out. There is a bit of a drag in the middle of the record, but with how good the first/last 3 songs and "Whammy" are, I can forgive the 3 or 4 track slow period in the middle of the record. No Love Deep Web is the type of fresh, no holds-barred experimental hip-hop that I've come to expect Death Grips to deliver.

Standout Tracks
1.No Love
2.Lil Boy
3.Come Up and Get Me

[mastodon421]

21.The Contortionist-Intrinsic
The Contortionist second full-length seems them embracing more progressive elements while retaining their death metal/core edge. Album opener "Holomovement" is probably the biggest risk they take with mostly clean vocals (which are much better than they were on [i]Exoplanet[/I) melodic guitars and subtle, atmospheric keyboard. Amidst all the experimentation with vocoders, synth, and jazz fusion and post-rock melodies, The Contortionist never forgets who they are. The balance of catchy melodic riffs and well-timed breakdowns that made Exoplanet special are used equally well on Intrinsic. The Contortionist have matured on Intrinsic becoming more progressive and experimental without sacrificing anything any of the best parts of their older material

Standout Tracks
1.Causality
2.Geocentric Confusion
3.Holomovement

[mastodon421]

20.Brother Ali-Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color
Brother Ali has been making consistent, thought-provoking hip-hop for over a decade now and Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color is no exception. Ali puts his heart and soul into everything he raps about and I really respect his intelligence and the way he conveys his social and political thoughts. The production is upbeat and jazzy for the most part with a few curveballs like the bass-heavy banger "Mourning in America" and the distorted-guitar driven "Gather Round". Brother Ali is one of the most unappreciated artists in the whole realm of hip-hop and I urge any hip-hop fans to check this record out if they haven't heard it yet.

Standout Tracks
1.Mourning in America
2.Only Life I Know
3.Gather Round

[mastodon421]

19.Deftones-Koi No Yokan
After making a triumphant comeback with their crushing 2010 effort Diamond Eyes, Deftones come back with a more mellow effort. This record to me at least is what Saturday Night Wrist was supposed to be: A calm, but still crushing record. Chino lets his indie/dream pop influences run wild on this record and it's really cool. Chino's vocals are amazing as always and make a lot of these songs really beautiful and powerful (especially "Tempest" and "Rosemary".) Of course this being the Deftones, there are still some heavy tracks. Being the metalhead whore that I am, these were my favorite tracks on the album for the most part. Tracks like "Poltergeist", "Leathers", and "Goon Squad" are just straight chaos with Stephen Carpenter banging out his distinctive riffs and Chino screaming his lungs out with his trademark shriek. Don't get me wrong the slow parts are great, but the heavy stuff just grabbed me and left more of a lasting impression on me. It took a little bit to grow on me, but Koi No Yokan is another excellent release from Deftones that effortlessly combines beauty and intensity.

Standout Tracks
1.Poltergeist
2.Leathers
3.Goon Squad

[mastodon421]

18.The HAARP Machine-Disclosure
England's The HAARP Machine have been hyped ever since they signed with Sumerian last year and after hearing their long-delayed debut full-length Disclosure, I can absolutely see why. This is some fantastic progressive metal with occasional bursts of technical death metal (They are frequently mislabeled as djent, which is complete bullshit. There is about 2-3 chug riffs on the whole record.) The two biggest reasons this band is special is the tandem of vocalist Michael Semsky and guitarist Abdullah Al'Mumin. Semsky is a dual threat vocalist with very powerful clean vocals rooted in progressive rock and screams that are filled with extreme metal intensity. Al'Mumin is a very diverse and skilled player that blends his Middle-Eastern background (In addition to guitar, he also plays sitar) with traditional metal and progressive rock influences. Disclosure is interesting record full of different influences converging beautifully to make the finest metal debut of the year.

Standout Tracks
1.Machine Over
2.Lower the Populace
3.Pleiadian Keys

[mastodon421]

17.Veil of Maya-Eclipse
Veil of Maya is near the top of the heap when it comes to deathcore acts and Eclipse is their best work to date. Eclipse is the next logical progression from their last record (id). Eclipse offers up similar pleasures as (id) with plenty of killer progressive and technical riffing, well-utilized breakdowns, and catchy synths, they're just stepped up big time. Brandon Butler has never sounded sharper on vocals and Marc Okuabo's guitarwork has never been more intricate or catchy. Really the only problem with this record is that it's too damn short at a very brief 28 minutes. If they continue to progress, the future is looking very bright for Veil of Maya.

Standout Tracks
1.The Glass Slide
2.Divide Paths
3.Vicious Circles

[slapguitarer]

Too...much...progcore

[mastodon421]

16.Killer Mike-R.A.P. Music
Before this record, my only exposure to Killer Mike was his frequent collaborations with Outkast. Although I always dug his work on the tracks he did with Outkast, I never looked up his solo stuff. R.A.P Music made me instantly regret not looking up his shit sooner. R.A.P Music is a near-perfect balance of aggressive, hardcore hip hop and politically-driven, conscious, southern hip-hop. No matter what style is being tackled, Mike is on his game with intelligent lyrics and an impeccable flow. What drives the record home though is the production from El-P. His beats are synth-heavy yet still very southern-sounding, sticking to Mike's heavy southern influences. Killer Mike made a hell of an impression on the hip-hop world with this varied and memorable release.

Standout Tracks
1.Go!
2.Untitled ft. Scar
3.Ghetto Gospel

[MetalIsArt]

I like The Haarp...

[Natrlhi]

Originally Posted by mastodon421

27.Black Breath-Sentenced to Life
SeattleThrash/Crust Punk/Death/Whatever the fuck you want to call it act Black Breath just cannot be stopped. It's pretty similar to their older stuff, just bigger, badder, and better than before. This record is chock full of amazing thrash riffs, whirlwind energy, great hardcore vocals, and of course, the occasional well-placed guitar solo (The solo on "Obey"). Definitely one of the more exciting and best underground metal bands at the moment.

Standout Tracks
1.Home of the Grave
2.Obey
3.Of Flesh

You and I don't always see eye to eye on things, but at least we agree on this. Excellent band and album.

Oh, and I somewhat prefer Apocryphon to Warp Riders - at least at the moment. It has grown on me in the last couple of weeks.

EDIT: One more thing...that Gaza is one helluva heavy album. Me likey.