Favorite 2013 album releases

corplhicks wrote:

Here we go:

10. Dream Theater - s/t
-Finally we have a return to form, if only in a few ways, and although the band still can't write themselves out of the same dull formula they've kept since Octavarium, they at least bring some excitement, passion, and spontaneity to their arrangements. Only bad note: lyrics are as bad as a Joel Osteen book.

9. Newsted - Heavy Metal Music
-Straight up, raunchy, and heavy. I love how Jason uses his vox here. The disc starts to wear thin after some time, so best to take a side A/B approach and split it. Only bad note: dude rhymes 'heart' with 'start,' a major offense in my book (seriously, I can't even listen to that song).

8. Annihilator - Feast
-Jeff really knows how to riff it up, and this time he's brought double the SPEEEEEED!!! [explosion here]. Hyperbole aside, this album is hard, fast, and aggressive, carrying more bite then recent efforts. Also Padden is starting to show more character in his voice, even if it's subtle. Only bad note: awful packaging with crappy lenticular artwork once again involving zombies (thrash and zombies seem to be having this love affair of late).

7. Carcass - Surgical Steel
-These guys get thrashier with each album, it seems. Though I hesitate to give it near the props I gave Heartwork, SS has so much going for it. Unique riffing, melodic power leads, proper and mannered usage of triggers, breakdowns, and tight, short songs that stick with you. They may not be my dad's grindcore band anymore, but like I care; this thing shreds. Only bad note: nothing really. This is solid throughout.

6. Onslaught- VI
-This is a nasty little treat, and Onslaught's best by miles. The sound of this disc is surprisingly sharp and full at the same time, and the guitars tear up everything in sight. Best thing is Sy Keeler's vocals, up front and harsh. Sounds like he's spewing hate and blood. Killer. A lot of these songs are extremely memorable, such as 6-6-f*cking-6 and Fuel for My Fire, but the standout track is the Middle Eastern Children of the Sand, which features an unknown female vocalist providing a beautiful, haunting line over a catchy, aggressive chorus. Only bad note: pretty short, with nine tracks total yet one of them being a short intro.

5. Haken - The Mountain
-Prog "metal," so to speak, with an intelligent vibe and very fluid changes that make the whole ordeal swirl in your head like a f*cking good potpourri. Frontman Ross Jennings really finds his style after wandering a bit on the first two albums, and though the music is a bit more mellow than their masterpiece, Visions, the band sounds so natural in their element that you get the feeling that they've found their way home. As S.D. has pointed out, lots of nods to various prog lords of yore. This is a feast, friends. Only Bad Note: none. This is a perfect record.

4. Accuser - Diabolic
Everyone's favorite Scott Waters turned me onto this band thanks to that goofy website he runs. Anyway, Diabolic is a slaughterhouse. In fact, if you were to walk into a slaughterhouse, this is what you'd hear. Actually, it's even more horrifying than that. Let me back up. Apparently this German thrash quartet has been around since the 80's (this was the first I'd heard of them) and their work, while good, never really hit the sweet spot--sort of like older Onslaught. This time around they cranked up the guitars while Frank Thoms traded in his shouting for a throaty, violent growl, and hit the mark at last. I've said enough; read Scott's review of it here. Only bad note: the loudness factor is really amped here, leaving a lot to be desired at high volumes.

3. Death Angel - The Dream Calls for Blood
-Hot damn, was I surprised by this. DA always did good after Act III, releasing strong thrash titles that were at least competent with their signature style, but with this latest something went very well in the studio and the band has never sounded more menacing. Mark Osegueda gives a fierce vocal delivery that should be noted as the top vocal performance of the year. Rob and Ted have always had a knack for meshing their guitar arrangements perfectly, and here they thunder through with some of the best interplay I've heard in a long time. This is brutal, old-school thrash, and much more akin to the brutality of Ultra-Violence than the more punky and technical Act III. No modern touches here, just like the good old days. And this really is Mark's show. Dude can stop a tornado with his voice. Only bad note: have yet to find one. This really is flawless.

2. Black Sabbath - 13
-So this one was quickly forgotten, it seems. It needs to be remembered. This is a comeback win for the ages. Tony sounds so inspired here with every shaking power chord and every bluesy lead that I imagine him in tears during the entire recording. Geezer is strong as well, weaving in and out of the iconoclastic stomp. Ozzy...well, Ozzy is Ozzy, and his voice is miles from where it was in the 70's, but it carries well. The songs--there's not a bummer here--are constructed with care and follow the familiar arcs that we all know and love. 13 seems to be a cross between the debut and Master of Reality, which is just what we needed from our fab 4 (-1). Only bad note: while the new drummer what's-his-name emulates Bill's style well, the production dries the drums out for some reason and loses a lot of heaviness. Of course, Bill is sorely missed.

1. Metal Church - Generation Nothing
-F*ck yes this is the Metal Church I remember. This year saw the latest release from the best metal group to come out of Seattle, and I can't praise it enough. Whereas Present Wasteland saw the warriors in somewhat of a slump due to unwarranted label issues, the independently produced Generation Nothing just happens to be their best release since Blessing in Disguise.

Generation Nothing does several things very right, a couple things okay, and really nothing wrong at all. The band defaults to their musical concepts of old: razor-sharp, thrashy riffs, some complex passages, haunting use of clean tones, constant application of the tritone, and gallons of hooks and melodies that stay in the head. The best thing here is vocalist Ronny Munroe. Whereas on previous albums we heard mostly the man's midrange, here he kicks himself in the ass and pushes it HARD. This is Ronny doing his best to channel the late David Wayne, and it works. High-pitched, gravelly, nasty, screaming US power metal madness is his forte at last. He really shines through here and deserves a great amount of credit for making this release work.

Every track is pretty much consistent, not too damaged by the ongoing loudness wars, and dark as night. There are nitpicks, but they are few and not weighty enough to distract. For one the packaging is pretty much the poorest I've seen in a long time. MC has never been known for stunning artwork outside of their debut, and though it's not near the catastrophe Hanging in the Balance was, it's still pretty damn ugly with it's trifold digipak made out of cheap cardboard with poorly photoshopped grays and juvenile fonts. The CD even has a poorly aligned label slapped on. The worst offender is lack of a booklet with lyrics (!). The reason for all of this is obvious, however: Kurdt & co. came out of Present Wasteland, which I believe was a flop, with little profit. The choice here, it seems, was to independently produce the record and releasing it through a small distributor, relying on word-of-mouth and social networking to market the release (very little promotion was put into this outside of the Rat Pak package, and the supporting tour is mostly festivals, clubs, and bars--fine by me). So though a lot was thrown into the actual music, not a lot was thrown into presentation. But I could care less when the music is just so outstanding.

I love this band so much, there's a possibility they could end up replacing Van Halen as my top favorite in the next decade, and for those who know me THAT'S SAYING A LOT. Their comeback is a welcome breath of fresh air and it's good to hear them where they used to be.

Honorable mention: Deep Purple - Now What
-Unfortunately I haven't heard this album deep enough to include it here, but my guess is it would have made it. The mechanics of the songs I've heard are brilliant and make for a very heavy and fluid Purple record. Sounds like a classic. Hoping to purchase this one soon.

    Definitely agree with your top three. Heres hoping the old guard keep putting out new music, cause I'm like a little kid at Christmas when I get a new release by these older artist.

I have a few from corplhicks list (Sabbath, Haken, Deep Purple) and all 3 of them made my top 10. Gotta love a year when two of the bands that originated heavy metal in the first place both release good albums over 40 years into their careers.

Haken really nailed it this year, both of their previous albums were very good but at times were a little self-conscious. But all that went away with the wonderfully organic The Mountain. Yes, the little nods to bands of prog rock past (Gentle Giant, 1980s era King Crimson, Genesis, etc) are still sprinkled throughout the album but now they fit seamlessly into the overall compositions. Haken are at that point where their blending of influences is starting to coalesce into their own unique sound. I'm excited to see where they go from here.

I sampled a few of the others from his list this year. The Death Angel sounds really good, I'm still not a fan of Dream Theater, the Newsted is okay just not really a sound I gravitate toward and unfortunately the vocalist on the Metal Church album is not doing it for me at all (I had the same general reaction to the Trouble album earlier this year).

S.D. wrote:

Haken really nailed it this year, both of their previous albums were very good but at times were a little self-conscious.  But all that went away with the wonderfully organic The Mountain.

That's a really good way to put it.

MY FINAL TOP 20 OF 2013:
1. AVENGED SEVENFOLD:HAIL TO THE KING.
2. SAXON:SACRIFICE.
3. ENFORCER:DEATH BY FIRE.
4. RECKLESS LOVE:SPIRIT.
5. MURO:EL CUARTO JINETE.
6. U.D.O:STEELHAMMER.
7. IRON CURTAIN:JAGUAR SPIRIT.
8. ANNIHILATOR:FEAST.
9. BLACK SABBATH: 13.
10. MOTORHEAD:AFTERSHOCK.
11.TERROR:LIVE BY THE CODE.
12.DEATH ANGEL:THE DREAM CALL FOR BLOOD.
13.SIGN OF THE JACKAL:MARK OF THE BEAST.
14.HARDCORE SUPERSTAR:C´MON TAKE ON ME.
15.DREAM THEATER:DREAM THEATER.
16.INSULTERS:WE ARE THE PLAGUE.
17.SCREAMER:PHOENIX.
18.HOLY GRAIL:RIDE THE VOID.
19.CRASHDIET:THE SAVAGE PLAYGROUND.
20.AXXION:WILD RACER.

Top 20 releases from 2013:
Stryper - 'No More Hell To Pay'
Black Debbath - 'Nå Får Det Faen Meg Være Rock! Akademisk Stoner-Rock!'
Rusted Brain - 'High Voltage Thrash'
Prowler - 'After You'
Oliva - 'Raise The Curtain'
Avantasia - 'The Mystery Of Time'
Pretty Maids - 'Motherland'
Deliverance - 'Hear What I Say!'
Attacker - 'Giants Of Canaan'
Bloodgood - 'Dangerously Close'
Metal Church - 'Generation Nothing'
Extol - 'Extol'
In Vain - 'Ænigma'
Reactory - 'Killed By Thrash'
Ashes Of Ares - 'Ashes Of Ares'
Black Sabbath - '13'
Running Wild - 'Resilient'
Megadeth - 'Super Collider'
Warlord - 'The Holy Empire'
Illusion Suite - 'The Iron Cemetery'
Runners up:
Blazon Stone - 'Return To Port Royal'
U.D.O. - 'Steelhammer'
Annihilator - 'Feast'
Vicious Rumors - 'Electric Punishment'
Razormaze - 'Annihilatia'
Destroyer - 'Slashing Metal'
Queensrÿche - 'Queensrÿche'
Circle II Circle - 'Seasons Will Fall'
Masterplan - 'Novum Initium'
Helloween - 'Straight Out Of Hell'
 
Honorable mentions (non-regular album favorites):

Stryper - 'Second Coming'
Possessor - 'Make Them Eat Metal' (EP)
Prowler - 'The New Blood' (EP)
Jorn - 'Symphonic'
Reactory - 'Killed By Thrash' (EP)

Biggest disappointment:

Sacred Warrior - 'Waiting In Darkness'

Albums I have heard, but do not yet own, that would have ended up on the list:

Iced Earth - 'Plagues of Babylon'
Black Trip - 'Goin' Under'

^^Good list. FYI, Plagues of Babylon comes out this year (and very soon thankfully).

Ashes of Ares almost made my top 10. My only complaint about it is the mix, particularly on the drums. But it had a lot of solid anthems on it, and Matt's voice is just hair-raising.

1. Reckless Love--SpiriteRzR3gmvX-Y
2. Redrum--Victims of Our Circumstances
3. Tom Keifer--The Way Life Goes
4. W.E.T.--Rise Up
5. Eden's Curse--Symphony of Sin
6. James Labrie--Impermanent Resonance
7. Crashdiet- The Savage Playground
9. Pink Cream 69- Ceremonial
10. James Christian--Lay It On Me
11. Jorn--Traveller
12. Pretty Maids--Motherland


The new Redrum was the biggest surprise for me. Much better than their first album, and Michael Bormann sounds great as usual:

In no particular order :

Artillery - Legions
Annihilator - Feast
Metal Church - Generation Nothing
Death Angel - The Dream Calls for Blood
Havok - Unnatural Selection
Black Sabbath - 13
Megadeth - Super Collider
Vicious Rumors - Electric Punishment
Helloween - Straight Out of Hell


Probably a tossup between Death Angel and Metal Church for top honor

007 wrote:

In no particular order :

Artillery - Legions
Annihilator - Feast
Metal Church - Generation Nothing
Death Angel - The Dream Calls for Blood
Havok - Unnatural Selection
Black Sabbath - 13
Megadeth - Super Collider
Vicious Rumors - Electric Punishment
Helloween - Straight Out of Hell


Probably a tossup between Death Angel and Metal Church for top honor

  

I'm also really digging that Artillery but I've only had it a week so I haven't had enough time to digest it all in.

I couldn't pick a top 10, so here are my top 20.

1. Age Of Taurus - Desperate Souls Of Tortured Times
2. Ashes Of Ares - Ashes Of Ares
3. Five Finger Death Punch - The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, Vol. 1
4. Five Finger Death Punch - The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell, Vol. 2
5. Helloween - Straight Out Of Hell
6. Hey! Hello! - Hey! Hello!
7. Killswitch Engage - Disarm The Descent
8. KMFDM - Kunst
9. Lo-Pro – Disintegration Effect
10. Luscious Jackson - Magic Hour
11. Monster Magnet - Last Patrol
12. Polkadot Cadaver - Last Call In Jonestown
13. Queensryche – Queensryche
14. ReVamp - Wild Card
15. Rob Zombie - Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor
16. Soilwork - The Living Infinite
17. Sprung Monkey - Dead Is Dead
18. Varga - Enter The Metal
19. Witherscape - The Inheritance
20. Wolfheart - Winterborn

Here are mine and in no particular order.

Dropkick Murphy's - Rose Tatoo
Stryper - Second Coming
Absolon - Darkness Rising
Alan Jackson - Precious Memories Vol. II
Megadeth - Super Collider
Sacred Warrior - Waiting in Darkness
Stryper - No More Hell to Pay
Bloodgood - Dangerously Close
Theocracy - Theocracy
Volbeat - Outlaw Gentleman and Shady Ladies
Tom Keifer - The Way Life Goes

jettafiend wrote:

Here are mine and in no particular order.

Dropkick Murphy's - Rose Tatoo
Stryper - Second Coming
Absolon - Darkness Rising
Alan Jackson - Precious Memories Vol. II
Megadeth - Super Collider
Sacred Warrior - Waiting in Darkness
Stryper - No More Hell to Pay
Bloodgood - Dangerously Close
Theocracy - Theocracy
Volbeat - Outlaw Gentleman and Shady Ladies
Tom Keifer - The Way Life Goes

A Dropkick Murphys single is in your top 10? And technically that Theocracy album is from 2003. It is great, though. =)

jettafiend wrote:

Here are mine and in no particular order.

Dropkick Murphy's - Rose Tatoo
Stryper - Second Coming
Absolon - Darkness Rising
Alan Jackson - Precious Memories Vol. II
Megadeth - Super Collider
Sacred Warrior - Waiting in Darkness
Stryper - No More Hell to Pay
Bloodgood - Dangerously Close
Theocracy - Theocracy
Volbeat - Outlaw Gentleman and Shady Ladies
Tom Keifer - The Way Life Goes

I admit I did a double take at Alan Jackson.   

corplhicks wrote:

^^Good list. FYI, Plagues of Babylon comes out this year (and very soon thankfully).

It was on Spotify in 2013, and that is a release as good as any

glassprison wrote:

1. Reckless Love--SpiriteRzR3gmvX-Y
2. Redrum--Victims of Our Circumstances
3. Tom Keifer--The Way Life Goes
4. W.E.T.--Rise Up
5. Eden's Curse--Symphony of Sin
6. James Labrie--Impermanent Resonance
7. Crashdiet- The Savage Playground
9. Pink Cream 69- Ceremonial
10. James Christian--Lay It On Me
11. Jorn--Traveller
12. Pretty Maids--Motherland


The new Redrum was the biggest surprise for me. Much better than their first album, and Michael Bormann sounds great as usual:

I have been listening to the new REDRUM album the last few days and MY O MY!! This would of easily made my Top 10 of 2013 had I heard it sooner!!!!

kmorg wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

^^Good list. FYI, Plagues of Babylon comes out this year (and very soon thankfully).

It was on Spotify in 2013, and that is a release as good as any

It really is. A top 10 album for sure. Threw out my neck.   

Quote :

'Nå Får Det Faen Meg Være Rock! Akademisk Stoner-Rock!'

Gesundheit!!

Eyesore wrote:

jettafiend wrote:

Here are mine and in no particular order.

Dropkick Murphy's - Signed and Sealed in Blood
Stryper - Second Coming
Absolon - Darkness Rising
Alan Jackson - Precious Memories Vol. II
Megadeth - Super Collider
Sacred Warrior - Waiting in Darkness
Stryper - No More Hell to Pay
Bloodgood - Dangerously Close
Theocracy - Theocracy
Volbeat - Outlaw Gentleman and Shady Ladies
Tom Keifer - The Way Life Goes

A Dropkick Murphys single is in your top 10? And technically that Theocracy album is from 2003. It is great, though. =)

Thanks for pointing the DKM mistake out. Total brain fade. I put the Theocracy in there because this is the remaster that just came out. I have never actually heard the original recording.

corplhicks wrote:

jettafiend wrote:

Here are mine and in no particular order.

Dropkick Murphy's - signed and Sealed in Blood
Stryper - Second Coming
Absolon - Darkness Rising
Alan Jackson - Precious Memories Vol. II
Megadeth - Super Collider
Sacred Warrior - Waiting in Darkness
Stryper - No More Hell to Pay
Bloodgood - Dangerously Close
Theocracy - Theocracy
Volbeat - Outlaw Gentleman and Shady Ladies
Tom Keifer - The Way Life Goes

I admit I did a double take at Alan Jackson.   

Normally I hate country but I like those 2 Alan Jackson albums. Just simple hymns, not modernized and perverted by some crappy modern rock band. I like this album a lot.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

'Nå Får Det Faen Meg Være Rock! Akademisk Stoner-Rock!'

Gesundheit!!

  

Black Debbath is a political satire / comedy band playing awesome doom metal, ala, yes, you guessed it, Black Sabbath. So while the lyrics are awesomly funny, they music is just too solid for me to discard the band as a novelty act. Definitly a highlight from last year, and I got to see them live in my hometown!

jettafiend wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

jettafiend wrote:

Here are mine and in no particular order.

Dropkick Murphy's - Signed and Sealed in Blood
Stryper - Second Coming
Absolon - Darkness Rising
Alan Jackson - Precious Memories Vol. II
Megadeth - Super Collider
Sacred Warrior - Waiting in Darkness
Stryper - No More Hell to Pay
Bloodgood - Dangerously Close
Theocracy - Theocracy
Volbeat - Outlaw Gentleman and Shady Ladies
Tom Keifer - The Way Life Goes

A Dropkick Murphys single is in your top 10? And technically that Theocracy album is from 2003. It is great, though. =)

Thanks for pointing the DKM mistake out. Total brain fade. I put the Theocracy in there because this is the remaster that just came out. I have never actually heard the original recording.

Ah, the full-length. Yeah, that's a good one. =)

Both Red Fang - Whales And Leeches and Monster Magnet's Last Patrol are making strong cases for my albums of the year. Without question Monster Magnet's Hallelujah would take song of the year.

Going through everything, I'm beginning to think this year may have equaled last year for quality stuff. I certainly can't remember two years in a row where so much came out they I truly loved. This is starting to become like a golden age or something for me musically. Hope it keeps up into 2014.

My top 10 as of right now:
1. Riverside: Shrine of New Generation Slaves
2. Haken: The Mountain
3. Steven Wilson: The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories
4. Deep Purple: Now What?!
5. Motörhead: Aftershock
6. Black Sabbath: 13
7. Queensrÿche: Queensrÿche
8. Fates Warning: Darkness in a Different Light
9. Dream Theater: Dream Theater
10. Voivod: Target Earth

Plus an honorable mention for Adrenaline Mob: Coverta, which might have made the top 10 if it weren't an EP.

Looking back on my predictions made in mid-year, I find one of my "sure things" (Ghost B.C.: Infestissumam) just missed the list.

Gryphon-kl wrote:

My top 10 as of right now:
1. Riverside: Shrine of New Generation Slaves
2. Haken: The Mountain
3. Steven Wilson: The Raven That Refused to Sing and Other Stories
4. Deep Purple: Now What?!
5. Motörhead: Aftershock
6. Black Sabbath: 13

It appears we were on similar wavelengths in 2013, these 6 albums also made my top 10.