Hellawaits77's Half-Assed End o' The Year Thread #2

[hellawaits77ny]

Originally Posted by W0unds

I checked out this full length after hearing a few of their tracks on Youtube, pretty impressive considering how young they are. I would say this the best deathcore release of the year. It is a bit of a breath of fresh air in an over saturated genre.

Not that it really matters for the music on album but I still think these drums have to be machine or sped up they just don't sound human to me at several points.

For sure. Definately talented musicians. Yes, the drums are "augmented" apparently. I personally thought they sounded like a drum machine, but apparently they are actual live drums, but sped up. Explains it well.

[hellawaits77ny]

#14

God Forbid
Equilibrium

While I don't think any of God Forbid's albums are outstanding, with the exception of IV:Constiution of Treason, most are enjoyable, quality metalcore. This album is definately better than their last effort, which I was not impressed w/. Plenty of solid tunes throughout the 1st half of this album. 2nd half of the album is a little to melodic and ghey for me, but the first half is very good. Lot's of quality riffs, some solid breakdowns, and production is solid as well. 'Don't Tell Me What To Dream' is probably the best tune, w/ the title track being 2nd.

Don't Tell Me What to Dream

[hellawaits77ny]

#13

Shinedown
Amaryllis

I've always likes Shinedown's radio songs and a few others, but I'd usually despise at least half of the album. Didn't plan on checking this album out, but did anyway, and am glad. In addition to the solid radio tunes, the rest of the album is damn good. There are a few tunes that are pretty heavy, actually. Only 1-2 stinkers, whereas the typical Shinedown album features many, usually more than half. Have always thought Brent Smith has an amazing voice, and this is another strong performance by him. Even though 'Bully' has been overplayed big time, it's still a good tune. 'Adrenaline' and 'Enemies' are 2 other strong tunes.

Adrenaline
Enemies

[hellawaits77ny]

#12

Coldworker
The Doomsayer's Call

Had never heard of these guys till a member here was raving about this album, so I checked it out. They're death metal, with thrash-ish vocals, sort of like Malevolent Creation, but not as good. Without a doubt one of my favorite albums of the year musically. However, like Psycroptic, the vocals don't do it for me. They don't suck like Psycroptic's, but they're just kinda average. But holy shit, is there some great riffage, and I like the production, too. Not really a weak track either, it's pretty good all the way through, although I do think they could have condensed the album into 10-11 tracks rather than 13, but hey, that's just me. A New Era, The Reprobate, and Pessimist are among the top tracks.

A New Era
The Reprobate

[hellawaits77ny]

#11

Incantation
Vanquish In Vengeance

The might Incantation. Through noone's fault but my own, I don't listen to Incantation much. I like their first few albums, but nothing has really stood out on their last few. I still decided to check this one out. WOW. That's what constantly went through my head the first 4 songs. Heavy, fast, just plain brutal. And is it me, or is this among John's best vocal performances? As I mentioned before, definately not an expert on these guys, but I don't remember his vocals being so gutteral. Almost slam-type vocals. But in a good way, not where idiots are just making sounds. Should the 2nd half of the album been able to keep pace with the first, this album would have been top 5 on my list. 2nd half isn't bad, just kinda stale.

Invoked Infinity
Progeny of Tyranny

[hellawaits77ny]

#10

Beneath The Massacre
Incongruous

Beneath The Massacre manages to make another great technical grindcore, technical deathcore, whatever you wanna call it record. Oodles and oodles of great riffs, and the type of clear production I really like. Big fan of the vocalist, too. Yes, some will say he's one dimensional, but I think he's quite effective. This is probably BTM's fastest album. However, along with the speed, comes some repetitiveness. Not enough to truly drag the album down, but it can get a bit stale from time to time. Above all though, this album's mix of speed, brutality and technicality make it a great one.

Full Album

[hellawaits77ny]

#9

Abominable Putrifity
The Anomolies of Artificial Origin

As someone already mentioned, dat cover art . These Russian dudes rose to a large amount of underground popularity after they recruited Matti Way. Unfortunately due to Matti being their vocalist, they don't tour. Interested to see if they keep Matti, or try to get another vocalist to tour. On to the actual album. It's simply a great slam album. True, it's not as "slam" as some slam albums where, where there are slams and slams with no structure, above some shitty sounding snares and fart vocals and squeals. Not the case here. Many slam fans have said this album is overproduced. In slam instances, maybe. However, it's incredibly refreshing to hear a slam album with solid, clear production. Matti's vocals are perfectly layered over the music, the drum sounds are good, guitar tone is great, and nothing over powers each other. Wouldn't mind a little more bass prescence, but it's not invisible. I may get castrated here, but I'm actually not a huge fan of Matti Way's vocals. I think he does too many "oohs". For example. Track #3, Letting Them Fall... has opening lyrics that sound like "Ooohh skoo skoo skoo ree." His vocals are clear enough to actually say words, so I think he should. But anyway, his vocal performance is still good. Let's hope these guys can find a vocalist who's quality, so they can actually tour.

Remnants of The Tortured
Lack of Oxygen

[hellawaits77ny]

#8

The Acacia Strain
Death Is The Only Mortal

Good ol' Acacia Strain. I know most people here hate them, but I love their outlook on life and the feel of their music. I generally have a negative opinion of the human race, so I tend to relate to many of the band's lyrics. TAS really doesn't do anything new here, nor did I expect them to. What makes this album so good in my eyes is the simple heaviness and brutality. It features some of the more catchy riffs of TAS' career, and I don't find it to have the staleness of their other albums. This is one of my favorite albums of the year to workout to, especially the opener, Doomblade. If you generally dislike people, then this album is for you .

Doomblade
The Mouth of The River

[hellawaits77ny]

#7

Rush
Clockwork Angels

Without a doubt, the biggest suprise of 2012 for me. I've never voluntarily listened to Rush. Never DISliked them, but never got into them. When I saw some dudes here raving about this album I thought, "Shit, I gotta check this out." Holy shit is this album fucking good! My jaw stayed on my computer desk for the entire first 2 tracks, Caravan and BU2B. I almost can't believe how good those first 2 songs are. Just wow. As awesome, superlative musicianship by all three, and Geddy Lee's vocals sound just as clear to me as they do on albums from 20+ years ago. The chorus in Caravan is one of my favorite musical moments of 2012, and probably in the top 25 of all time. I absolutely love thta fucking song. Carnies and Seven Cities of Gold are also killer tracks. Album could be even higher, but last couple songs while still good, are nothing outstanding.

Caravan
Carnies

[IrritatedTrout]

Good to see this on so many lists.