Best of 2012

Preparing for my 2012 year end list has been difficult because of the volume of great releases this year. A great problem to have, unlike last year. I have been trying to determine whether or not expand my list to fifteen because I have identified 24 albums for possible consideration and I am still trying to fit in a decent number of spins of each to see if they should make the list.

That being said there are a few standouts that are competing for the crown. Those albums are by High on Fire, Meshuggah, Testament, Lamb of God, Gojira and the Deftones. So here we go...

1. Deftones, Koi No Yokan. Full of energy and atmosphere, each song shifting seamlessly in different directions. It seems like every song on this disc is a mini album all unto itself.

2. Meshuggah, Koloss. A massive wall of sound; constantly beating like the heart of a goliath monster. See review earlier in the year.

3. Testament, Dark Roots of the Earth. The unofficial fifth member or the Big Four delivers the goods with a mix of heavy thrash and great lyrics. Most Metal song of the year: Rise Up. “When I say rise up you say: WAR! The smell of death reeks through the air, the stench of burning bodies, bloodshed everywhere.”

4. Lamb of God, Resolution. It’s hard to add subtly to a wrecking ball but Lamb of God manages to do just that with Resolution. Think of the beginning and ending songs as the firing up the big diesel motors before swinging the wrecking ball into action. Anyone can do demolition but few can make it an artform. LOG are one of the few.

5. High on Fire, De Vermis Mysteriis. Random thoughts when listening to this: Every song sounds the same, yet totally different. What song is this, Oh it's same one, wow. Is this on shuffle, does it matter, apparently not. Is there a lyrical story line, they said so, can you follow it, no, does it matter, no. Is this album awesome? Yes. In every way what a High on Fire fan hoped it could be.

6. Gojira, L'Engant Sauvage,  Gojira has perfectly executed one of the most difficult tasks in metal: Atmospheric brutality.  A subtle plan to meld walls of riffs and double-bass blasts with melodic time-changes sends this album into a league all of its own.

7. Katatonia, Dead End Kings: A surprise standout in my book. I sampled it on itunes and decided to get it. This album is mellow but can only be a metal album. The arrangements are rooted in symphonic metal but the symphony elements are considerably diluted. An album full of quieter moments but totally in the realm of metal.

8. Lacuna Coil, Dark Adrenaline: Two lead singers; one male, one female, no fear of harmonies or melody, or chug-chug riffs or electronic dabbling, or symphonic medal moments. There is no pretense from Lacuna Coil about what kind of band they are or want to be. This is another masses friendly album, (compared to the its company on this list) executed perfectly.

9. In This Moment, Blood: Back to back female vocalists! This album bursts with intensity largely due to the passionate vocal delivery of Maria Brink, but it is enhanced by solid song composition. In This Moment wrote their best song to date, Adrenalize, a track that bends and weaves through its parts with slithering purpose.

10. Converge, All that we love we leave behind.  Frantic, chaotic, energetic, immediate, impassioned are all words that describe this offering by Converge.  They have the ability to sandwich an immense amount of riffage, time signature changes, and breakdowns into short cohesive songs.  With all the variety per song it is impossible to get bored listening to this band.

11. Baroness, Yellow and Green. The hype that built up around this double-disc offering was huge. The results were excellent but all negative critiques of the album revolve around the fact that as whole the album seemed a bit disjointed. I agree, there a too many parts that don’t fully mesh, at least at the standard that listeners have come to expect from Baroness. Their efforts here are still vastly superior to most other bands are capable of. My favorite track is Cocainium. The track opens with a gentle guitar melody and swirly sounds with the other instruments playing occasional notes before the bass line starts and then it builds towards a moment when they dive into a funky organ centered groove. Later the guitars crank up the fuzz and beat gets thicker, but they shift back to the organ groove and song moves seamlessly back and forth taking the listener for the ride. This track represents the best of what Baroness has to offer and their previous albums operate like one massive track, Yellow and Green is more like four massive tracks.

12. Torche, Harmonicraft.  Fuzz, fuzz, fuzz, riffs, and pop sensibility, in a Nirvana kind of way.  Torche have made a happy go lucky metal album without being cheesy, or radio-friendly (because radio sucks).

13. Pig Destroyer, Book Burner.  The angriest album on the list. This group of grindcore masters cram 19 songs into a half hour.  Blast beats, shredding, and screaming condensed into bit-sized morsels to crack your teeth on.

14. Shinedown, Amaryllis: A big radio friendly rock album that succeeds on all levels at being exactly what it is. All the songs are well-composed, full of hooks and cliches but perfectly executed. The lead singer is an outstanding singer who can vary his delivery to maximize the moments within a song and keep a listener interested. I think many will disagree with this selection or state that their past releases are superior, but I haven't heard the past ones, and this album is straight-up mainstream stadium rock, which isn't doesn't have to be a bad thing.