Just missed the Top 20:
Arch Enemy-War Eternal
Black Crown Initiate-The Wreckage of Stars
Beyond Creation-Earthborn Evolution
Ne Obliviscaris-Citadel
CunninLynguists-Strange Journey Volume Three
20. Son of Aurelius-Under a Western Sun: Son of Aurelius returned from their mini-hiatus armed with a new vocalist and a new sound on their second LP Under a Western Sun. After listening to Under a Western Sun, it's hard to believe that this is the same band that released The Farthest Reaches in 2010. Aside from the occasional death growl and chug riff, there's no traces of the technical death metal that ruled their debut on this record. Instead, the listener is treated to a sprawling and highly rewarding prog record with melo-death undertones. The operatic vocals of Riley McShane perfectly complement the constantly shifting arrangements from the wildly underrated guitarist/bassist duo of Carey Greare and Max Zigman. The chops this band is possesses is amongst the finest in the genre and their abundance of talent is a large part of why this record is so intriguing to listen to. Son of Aurelius covers a lot of new ground on Under a Western Sun and they're better for it. If you're a fan of progressive metal of any kind, you need to check out this record as soon as possible.
Standout Tracks 1.Long Ago 2.The Stoic Speaks 3.Under a Western Sun
19. Darkest Hour-Darkest Hour:
Darkest Hour's turn to straight metalcore on their eight LP was met with a lot of
resistance from their fans and the metal community on the whole.
Personally, I didn't see what all the bitching was about. Prominent
use of clean vocals and breakdowns may have entered the fold for the
first time in their career, but the same level of excellent
musicianship and dedication to decimating the listener with catchy
riffs and pure, unadulterated fury is still very much present. The
new elements are all used quite well and there's still quite a few
gritty, face-melting vintage Darkest Hour tunes to go alongside the
more melodic, accessible ones. This may not be the next Deliver
Us or
Undoing Ruin, but
it's a nice change-of-pace for Darkest Hour as a band and yet
another worthy entry into their highly underrated discography.
Standout
Tracks 1.Rapture in Exile 2.By the Starlight 3.Futurist
18.Machine Head-Bloodstone &
Diamonds: The mighty Machine Head has continued their run of excellence with Bloodstone &
Diamonds. It
may not be as consistent or groundbreaking as The
Blackening or
Unto the Locust,
but
there's still plenty of excellent tracks along the way that showcase
their trademark groove metal sound and increasingly improving melodic
side. Robb Flynn and co. are in the midst of their finest years as a
band, and Bloodstone
& Diamonds only adds to their recent reign of dominance.
Standout
Tracks 1.Eyes of the Dead 2.Now We Die 3.Ghosts Will Haunt My Bones
17.Archspire-The Lucid Collective: 2014
has been a PHENOMENAL year for technical death metal and this wave of
standout releases started with Archspire's The
Lucid Collective back
in April. The
Lucid Collective isn't
the epitome of creativity in the genre, but for what it lacks in
innovation, it makes up for in earth-shattering musical precision. The
guitars are strikingly fast without ever drifting into full-blown
wankery, the drums are thunderous and the bass is an
understated delight throughout. Beyond Creation and Augury may forever be considered the
kings of Canadian tech-death, but Archspire 100% deserves to be
mentioned in the same breath as those genre darlings.
Standout
Tracks 1.Fathom Infinite Depth 2.Scream Feeding 3.Join Us Beyond
16.Lana Del Rey-Ultraviolence: Wildly
popular yet incredibly polarizing art pop songbird Lana Del Rey traveled outside of her established comfort zone for the first time in her career on Ultraviolence. The breezy trip-hop soundscapes of Born
to Die and
Paradise have
been replaced with somber string arrangements and faint guitars on Ultraviolence.
While the music itself couldn't be more different than her previous
material, Del Rey's uncanny ability to create a hauntingly beautiful
and hypnotic atmosphere remains in tact. The raw vocals and stirring
hooks that Del Rey offers up in droves on Ultraviolence
manage to get under your skin in ways that other pop/indie artists
simply can't. With its minimalist and generally gloomy nature, it's much more of a grower than Born to Die. However, once Ultraviolence starts clicking, it's every bit as memorable as its predecessor.
Standout
Tracks 1.Shades of Cool 2.West Coast 3.Brooklyn Baby
15.Body Count-Manslaughter: On
the surface, Body Count's Manslaughter
appears
to be a complete joke. Body Count is fronted by Ice-T-who hasn't put out any
music since 2006, and in recent years has become more known for his
acting on Law &
Order: SVU
than his musical endeavors- and the lead single of the album is
called “Talk Shit, Get Shot”. In reality, it's a shockingly well-written, darkly hilarious and absurdly fun record. Ice-T and guitarist Ernie C make for a nu-metal dream team. Ice-T delivers each song with just as much as venom as he did on Body Count's debut 22
years ago and proves to be quite the sharp comedic mind on hysterical
jams like “Get a Job” and “Institutionalized 2014” while
Ernie C lays down a barrage of excellent riffs and chaotic solos that
would make Kerry King proud. If nu-metal suddenly gets revived in the near future, it
will be because of records like Manslaughter.
Standout
Tracks. 1.Institutionalized 2014 (re-imagining of the Suicidal
Tendencies song) 2.Get a Job 3.Back to Rehab
14.Beartooth-Disgusting:
Who would've thought the new band of one of the founding members of
the infamous Attack Attack! would be so damn good? Beartooth's Disgusting
is
a raw, infectious metalcore album that serves as a perfect showcase
for Caleb Shomo's talent. Shomo wrote this entire album (save for “In
Between” which he co-wrote with Goldfinger guitarist and Disgusting
producer
John Feldmann) himself and there is a not moment on this record where
his immense passion doesn't bleed through. On
Disgusting, Shomo
shows an introspective side and a serious skill for writing ridiculously
catchy choruses that's been noticeably absent from his previous
musical ventures. Shomo spends most of the this record singing with candor about his struggles with
depression and addiction. The openness Shomo displays in the lyrics
are reenforced by his near-perfect vocal performance and well-timed
breakdowns that emphasize the album's emotional power. There was no
bigger surprise in 2014 than Disgusting
and
I expect big things out of Shomo and co. in the future.
Standout Tracks: 1. Body Bag 2.The Lines 3.One More
13. Monuments-The Amanuensis: I
don't know what it is with British prog bands and their ability to make
gigantic strides on an album-to-album basis. Last year it was The
Safety Fire, who followed a wholly forgettable album in Grind
the Ocean with
a truly excellent one in Mouth
of Swords. This
year it's Monuments- who manages to eviscerate their decent albeit entirely
forgettable debut Gnosis
with
their second LP The
Amanuensis. Monuments
improvement on The
Amanuensis
can largely be tied to the addition of vocalist Chris Barretto (Ever
Forthright, ex-Periphery) to their ranks. Barretto's wide vocal capabilities that
range from beautiful falsetto cleans to borderline death metal
screams allow the band to be much more confident and take more risks in their songwriting. Barretto can tackle just about anything you
throw at him vocally, and his knack for soaring hooks and using
punishing screams to punctuate the heaviness of the rest of the music
is showcased at length on this record. The instrumentation is
certainly improved as well with more headbang-worthy grooves and
richer melodies, but they wouldn't be nearly as good without Baretto
leading the ship. Monuments made some serious waves with The
Amanuensis and as long as Barretto is on board, these guys will be in the top-tier of modern prog metal acts.
Standout
Tracks 1.Quasimodo 2.Saga City 3.Garden of Sankhara
12. Goatwhore-Constricting the Rage of
the Merciless: Goatwhore is the
modern extreme metal equivalent of Motorhead. They've been making the
same album for the entirety of their career, but it doesn't grow stale
because they're so damn good at what they do. Goatwhore's latest
blast of grimy, Bayou-bred blackened death thrash is one of their
most consistent, riff-heavy, energetic and just plain best releases of their
decade-plus career. As long as Goatwhore continues to put out
material that's as strong as Constricting
Rage of the Merciless, they'll
be no calls from any of their fans to switch up their time-tested
formula.
Standout
Tracks 1. Baring Teeth for Revolt 2.Schudenfrede 3.FBS
11.Alterbeast-Immortal:
In a year where loads of technical death metal albums were heavily
praised, Alterbeast's Immortal
managed
to all but completely avoid the hype train. The lack of attention for Immortal
is a serious shame because it's easily one of the best releases the
genre has seen in a long time. This California quintet sounds like if
Trevor Strnad was the frontman Necrophagist. While fast-riffing, blast beats
and shrieked vocals are the backbone of Alterbeast's music, they use
plenty of subtle guitar work and occasional brief spurts of melody to
set them part. Don't get it twisted, these guys aren't another
prog/tech death hybrid a la Fallujah or The Faceless. They are a
straight-up sinister tech-death act who just happen to throw some well-calculated melodies in the mix from time to time to keep their song structures fresh.
Immortal is
a serious hidden gem and far and away, the best debut album in all of
metal this year.
Standout
Tracks 1.Throne of Maggots 2.Ancient’s Retribution 3.Flesh Bound
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