2014 POLL RESULTS COUNTDOWN - ILM Metal Albums of the Year

Thanks to all who voted. I think we got 62 votes but seandalai can confirm it. Thanks to him for tabulating again and hopefully he will have some stats for after the countdown finishes.

So lets get this thing started...

There will be playlist
spotify:user:pfunkboy:playlist:4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos
http://open.spotify.com/user/pfunkboy/playlist/4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos

Looks like you'll need a triumvirate to fully provide credibility.

next year, I guess, if man is still alive.

102 The Cosmic Dead - Easterfaust 143 Points, 4 votes
http://i.imgur.com/3RY6Cih.jpg
https://thecosmicdead.bandcamp.com/album/easterfaust

http://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/records/307515-the_cosmic_dead_easterfaust

395 albums received at least 1 vote

that's a good album. I can see people not voting for it based on thinking it's not metal. Def. a good album though.

tie
100 Autopsy - Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves 143 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/hfHDutb.jpg
spotify:album:6hvKlztBFWPKnR6Q1QEJRw

100 Lantlos - Melting Sun 143 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/dTo7fik.jpg
spotify:album:5VgdL17QsdAiuxa3GCPUOo
https://lantlos.bandcamp.com/album/melting-sun-2

Lantlos > Autopsy

and I say this as a bug Autopsy fan. They should pack it in, their best days are behind them.

will do 2 more tonight

ok. bug = big, btw.

What was the album that got 3 #1 votes but didn't make it?

yeah?? I speculated it was power metal.

I hope it wasn't Babymetal. That needs to be on here.

Both Autopsy and Lantlôs were disappointments, really.

I don't remember if I voted for Lantlos or not but I certainly meant to. It kind of got overshadowed by some of the other albums I dug but it was still p good

62 voters, nice!

99 Ulaan Markhor - Spiral Horns, Black Onions, et al 144 Points, 4 votes, One #1
http://i.imgur.com/RTJKGjx.jpg
spotify:album:0rKfTCujkbMb0jQ4sPzfnD
https://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/spiral-horns-black-onions-et-al

also I appreciate how democratic the metal poll is. open nominations, a 50 album poll if you so choose, a choice of weighted or unweighted. I guess we're knuckledraggers in the same way as the vikings invented to first republic in Northern Europe...

I have no idea what album 99 is. Seems to be black metal?

I meant to vote and forgot! Blargh.

steven r smith apparently

The Ulaan Markhor is a stellar guitar-based drone record.

http://www.piccadillyrecords.com/products/UlaanMarkhor-SpiralHorns,BlackOnions,EtAl-SoftAbuse-99794.html

thanks EZ. I hope you're around for all enigmatic albums.

I voted for that one. I'm not gonna know any of the odd black metal stuff.

since people are around i'll do another couple

98 Seven that Spells - The Death and Resurrection of Krautrock: IO 146 Votes, 3 voters , One #1
http://i.imgur.com/Vu1MviA.jpg
http://thequietus.com/articles/15685-seven-that-spells-the-death-and-resurrection-of-krautrock-io-review
https://seventhatspells.bandcamp.com/album/the-death-and-resurrection-of-krautrock-io

#99!! Great album!!

97 Death Penalty - Death Penalty 146 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/utoWHxu.jpg
spotify:album:6bynbeP78tRtijPHIWqcH0

idk i love that autopsy record, think it's the best of their last few

haters

96 Ambergris - Ambergris 147 Points, 3 votes, One #1
http://i.imgur.com/ia7HycG.jpg
https://horsesacrifice.bandcamp.com/album/ambergris

one more to come tonight then will resume about 1.30/2pm UK time

these all look like pretty great albums. I fear all the shit ones are in the post-#50 range...

btw, what was the one that had 3 #1 votes and didn't make it into the top 100?

i made a mistake i read from the wrong list

lol I thought you were trolling to get people worried about their fav albums

I don't know what any of these albums sound like but the cover art is A+ across the board. Ok, maybe not Autopsy but.

Sweet, I voted for Death Penalty and I think Seven That Spells made my ballot.

95 Body Count - Manslaughter 147 Points,6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/PdxbRw9.jpg
spotify:album:3uQOGUgdZ2dFiOv2YVkkxb

nice, glad it made it in. TOO LOW!

it fills my heart with joy that bodycount have released an album in 2014

Slop, you should give up sleeping and keep releasin'.

Not quite as controversial as their first :)
xp

hah. To think how far metal has come in extremity since the 80s...

autopsy is decent imo. voted for it but mostly because autopsy coasting is still enjoyable enough.

body count album is hilarious, grandpa ice-t telling people to get a job

That Body Count record is great fun.

eh, plenty of goregrind is topping them these days, they aren't bad by any standard but should recognize they represent an older aspect of the genre and perhaps focus putting out their older, previously unreleased material like they did in the early 2000's.

^^ re: Autopsy

History has moved on, Ice T's now complaining about helpdesks in India, vegetarians disliking his choice of grilled meat, and his Xbox, whereas it all used to be about inner city violence.

lol, sounds like a modern Sinbad stand-up routine.

hated the Body Count album, especially the updated version of Institutionalised, which completely missed the point (and was borderline racist).

cosmic dead cover looks super trippy

Body Count album way too low. I knew I should have posted a weighted ballot.

Three of my big ones showing up already: Ulaan Markhor, Seven that Spells (my #1), and Cosmic Dead! Awesome!

I had v little hope for 7TS showing up, truth be told

Man, I love how there are already three albums on the list that I've never heard of, yet look right up my alley. Thank you ILM!

eh, plenty of goregrind is topping them these days, they aren't bad by any standard but should recognize they represent an older aspect of the genre

imo the strength of the Autopsy album lies in their acceptance of just that. plus the fact it sounds really sick

forgot to vote in this but there are already some records I liked and/or am curious about

will resume in 90 mins or so

ok ready to go

94 Monarch - Sabbracadaver 148 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/3vfWP2U.jpg
spotify:album:0DWgq6lCO1shy7qt6hj58b
https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/sabbracadaver

93 Truckfighters - Universe 152 Points, 5 votes, One #1
http://i.imgur.com/GyshWzK.jpg

spotify:album:1sGA0UblbKkjo3PoPbXkZZ
https://fuzzoramarecords1.bandcamp.com/album/truckfighters-universe

When the mood is right that Monarch record is amazing. Best thing they've done.

Yeah, I love that record. I think I had it around #6 (forgot to save my list).

Magical invocations probably would be that slow.

I still need to buy it. Not bought as much this year due to lack of money. Need to make a profoundlore order soon

Ambergris is the only thing I voted for that has placed so far. Curious who gave it the #1. I'm listening to Lantlos now. I listened to it once before and didn't really click with it but I think I'm enjoying it a little better now.

91 Raspberry Bulbs - Privacy 155 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/9lrSO5p.jpg
spotify:album:7wQBjixV20G0EkKmZkYIsZ
https://blackesteverblack.bandcamp.com/album/privacy

Lol I need to finally listen to Truckfighters. A good friend of mine surprised me by trying to sell me on the song "Desert Cruising"

Ambergris too. The Branca-metal thread is one of my big go-to places for new music reccs these days

...and tbh Im not hating Raspberry Bulbs either after listening a little to their bandcamp.

Is 91 a tie or is there a numbering error?

yeah its a tie
91 Coffinworm - IV.I.VIII 155 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/wIdtRA9.jpg
spotify:album:42aSDPZtBZXHq0Tq5jWvVV
https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/iv-i-viii

next up is the album that i thought didn't get in the countdown despite having 3 #1 votes

but it got a late #1 so it has 4

that's right the next one up has four #1s

I love how wonky everything is this year so far

A Pregnant Light - My Game Doesn't Have A Name 156 Points, 4 votes, Four #1s
http://i.imgur.com/F9TTOj3.jpg

spotify:album:4R17xrjlNhg72GNKtryyfz
https://colloquialsoundrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/my-game-doesnt-have-a-name

Truckfighters! I'd like to think if everyone listened to it, it would have been on at least 30 ballots ;)

thats #90

So yeah, obv Truckfighters was my #1. They tour a lot, I highly recommend their live show.

I have not heard A Pregnant Light.

dunno them but four #1s means we should all give them a go

I'm not a fan.

I think im expecting ASG style stuff (older shouty ASG)

never heard the name in any context at all iirc

songtitles and album art have led me to anticipate a metal version of Xiu Xiu minus the elements that I like about Xiu Xiu

liking it so far i must say. id buy this if i saw it in a shop

89 Conan - Blood Eagle 157 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/WcNvC1o.jpg
spotify:album:0cfQtHX71WkdUXX5J8Nrjo

I listened to most of the Pregnant Light. I guess those shouty post-hardcore vocals work, but are not for me.

I was super excited when the Conan album first came out, but then I heard Monolord which I liked better. I think Conan made it to the lower end of the ballot. I'd see them live for sure.

Conan album was more of the same really, pleasant enough though. Glad to see that excellent Raspberry Bulbs album placed.

What the hell is A Pregnant Light?!

I guess 4 people really really liked it. I've never heard of them.

88 Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestite 157 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/ca77V6E.jpg
spotify:album:3CZ1efJZ8G1hDBETkFuoxw
https://artemisiarecords.bandcamp.com/album/celestite

for fans of Tangerine Dream. Black Metal fans may not like.

seandalai you might dig it

87 Wo Fat - The Conjuring 158 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/YzmHlbe.jpg
spotify:album:2wDbLernQ1CHHesMpjb3bI
https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/the-conjuring

lol no surprise that a pregnant light is riiiight up my alley

Wo Fat have played Europe more than they have most of the U.S., as they've never done a proper American tour! I've been a fan for years and never seen them. I hear their shows are something to behold.

At first I thought Adam Levine was on that APL cover.

From my review:

A close listen, however, reveals a distinctly American mix of voodoo space jazz fusion, doom and blues. While they don’t quite do southern boogie like ZZ Top, they do have a groove. And Kent Stump’s vocals are both down to earth and somehow comforting. Probably because he could sub for Bill Barretta, the great voice actor who took over the Muppets characters Rowlf the Dog and Dr. Teeth from Jim Henson. With their name taken from the arch-villain from Hawaii Five-O, and album covers by German artist Alexander von Wieding that bring their sci-fi and horror lyrics to life, the band has clearly digested a ton of 70s references. But they don’t sound like any particular band from any decade.... "Read The Omens” pummels hard without being punishing. This is a good thing. A lot of bands in sludge, doom and many other genres try too hard to be hard, and may end up making an impressive noise, but also kind of a chore to get through. This is never an issue with Wo Fat, who keep the perfect balance of heaviness and musicality. “Pale Rider From The Ice” simmers with a slower, textured, doomy pace before picking it up with the groovy riff monster “Beggar’s Bargain.” The closing track is even more of a trippy beast, the 17:11 “Dreamwalker,” a couple minutes longer than their previous epic “Noche del Chupacabra.” It’s so good I’ve played it three times. Newcomers to the band will likely ask themselves how they missed this band for so long. Were they always this awesome? Pretty much. The Conjuring has some sort of secret sauce that makes it my favorite, but they’ve had the amazing tones, riffs and grooves for a while, which means a lot of people have a lot of Wo Fat albums to catch up on.

86 Karma To Burn - Arch Stanton 160 Points, 4 votes
http://i.imgur.com/e57iLtj.jpg
spotify:album:5djJ40af7FwP1Id0gV462c

A friend of mine used to play in a band with some of those guys. I last saw them a couple years ago open for The Sword. They get better every album!

legends

I thought A Pregnant Light might be the band with 3 #1s and not on the list so I'm glad it got the needed points.

I had it as my #1 and I've been a big fan of APL for a couple of years now. I can't remember how I found them, but I fell hard for the Live to Tell ep and I've kept up ever since. Also check out the Purple Pain / Ultraviolet-singel. Two great songs not on the album. Everything can be found on the Colloquial Sound Recordings bandcamp-page. https://colloquialsoundrecordings.bandcamp.com

this death penalty album is pretty cool, more up tempo than I expected

85 Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol 160 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/ISwrprH.jpg
spotify:album:5w7HEquNl4Pf4yM7dEu4tJ

Monster Magnet - Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol

is this a remix album or what?

I was curious about that too. I mean I gather it's MM doing the remixing or re-recording or whatever's going on.

Ambergris is the only thing I voted for that has placed so far. Curious who gave it the #1.

That could've been me. I'm really digging both of his releases at the moment!

84 At The Gates - At War With Reality 161 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/3u6Zngc.png
spotify:album:5cBynm0jngOdwnEzRVbiYx

Hahaha. Wow. I still haven't heard it but figured it would place higher. Is it that bad?

Not heard it and doubt its my thing but I thought it would be higher too.

it's good! it's oddly... relaxed

83 Rigor Mortis - Slaves To The Grave 161 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/lFuvT8Y.jpg
spotify:album:5dlmruPHYNx3athqj7HvJN

YEAH

too low but whatever

incredibly paced album, gets more expansive as it goes

I liked the MM album last year but wasn't excited about a re-do. Was it supposed to sound like more 60s psych this time around? I forget what I read about it.

wow, I guess I thought At The Gates was a lock for the top 10-15

also, that Raspberry Bulbs album rules

Metal Poll Rollout is just the best

xp It was supposed to have a "weird 60s vibe" or something, yeah. I intend to hear both versions but I've got a lot of other stuff in line ahead of them.

82 Hands Of Orlac - Figli Del Crepuscolo 162 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/QhYGzjv.jpg
https://horrorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/figli-del-crepuscolo

Got this bands last album but didn't know there was a new one til poll started.

TIE
80 Saor - Aura 163 Points , 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/NQ8JMDE.jpg
spotify:album:1BhdMkVHX7OGnAo1llUEmq
http://saor.bandcamp.com/album/aura

80 The Great Old Ones - TEKELI-LI 163 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/Zdg5Jj4.jpg
spotify:album:4AkPXVfHy7lttUDjEHYatg
http://thegreatoldones.bandcamp.com/album/tekeli-li-2

Think we will leave it here for tonight will resume about 2pm GMT

Yeah the new Hands of Orlac came out not long ago, kind of quietly. It was in my ballot but I didn't expect to see it in the top 100! Definitely a step up from the debut, with better vocals.

Saor is #2 in RYM, interesting stuff. Tekeli-Li looked like it would also be big on RYM, and it's #30.

RYM is not wrong, Saor is great.

Scottish apparently. It looks like mordymetal (folk)

Wow, I'm digging this Raspberry Bulbs album, had never heard of them. Very raw, sounds more like punk than metal to me, but I like it...

I think the concensus is that they've gotten less and less metal, but the main guy is from Bone Awl, one of the least metal black metal bands, so even their early stuff had a strong punk vibe.

consensus ugh

recap

102 The Cosmic Dead - Easterfaust 143 Points, 4 votes
tie
100 Autopsy - Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves 143 Points, 5 votes
100 Lantlos - Melting Sun 143 Points, 5 votes
99 Ulaan Markhor - Spiral Horns, Black Onions, et al 144 Points, 4 votes, One #1
98 Seven that Spells - The Death and Resurrection of Krautrock: IO 146 Votes, 3 voters , One #1
97 Death Penalty - Death Penalty 146 Points, 5 votes
96 Ambergris - Ambergris 147 Points, 3 votes, One #1
95 Body Count - Manslaughter 147 Points,6 votes
94 Monarch - Sabbracadaver 148 Points, 6 votes
93 Truckfighters - Universe 152 Points, 5 votes, One #1
Tie
91 Raspberry Bulbs - Privacy 155 Points, 6 votes
91 Coffinworm - IV.I.VIII 155 Points, 6 votes
90 A Pregnant Light - My Game Doesn't Have A Name 156 Points, 4 votes, 1 #1
89 Conan - Blood Eagle 157 Points, 5 votes
88 Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestite 157 Points, 6 votes
87 Wo Fat - The Conjuring 158 Points, 5 votes
86 Karma To Burn - Arch Stanton 160 Points, 4 votes
85 Monster Magnet - Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol 160 Points, 5 votes
84 At The Gates - At War With Reality 161 Points, 5 votes
83 Rigor Mortis - Slaves To The Grave 161 Points, 6 votes
82 Hands Of Orlac - Figli Del Crepuscolo 162 Points, 5 votes
TIE
80 Saor - Aura 163 Points , 5 votes
80 The Great Old Ones - TEKELI-LI 163 Points, 5 votes

some good albums there worth checking out

Must check out that Raspberry Bulbs album. I loved that punky, garage-y Bone Awl stuff.

Saor seems nice.

I might need to listen more but I think my issue with Lantlos was that I wanted the vocalist to either be a better singer or to just scream instead. I realize that many people hate the combination of black metal screaming over shoegazey guitars but tbh, I think I might prefer it to a lot of indie rock 'singing'.

I agree with sund4r re the voices

79 Bongripper - Miserable 163 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/ajdl4iA.jpg
spotify:album:7lxs62K2fx7qobnJVdU0P4
http://bongripper.bandcamp.com/album/miserable

Don't know how many I'll do today. Depends if there's people around

Well it's just over 9, some of us Yanks might be sleeping in a bit later. Bit too early in the morning for Bongripper yet. They're from Chicago and they are often opening for shows I go to, but I've always showed up too late and missed them.

After 9

78 The Flight of Sleipnir - V. 168 Points, 4 votes
http://i.imgur.com/ly9poY2.jpg
spotify:album:0cqgQ6sJUozchnfJJGxS1V
http://theflightofsleipnir.bandcamp.com/

I thought V might finish higher, loved that album. god, there's so much stuff i haven't heard in the poll already.

really loved this bands last album but again was unaware there was a new one until the poll

and yes lots of stuff to check out so far. I think its a really good poll

Idk anything about those two bands

And I dont think the results are that predictable either. There was no runaway winner. its close in the top 5.

and surprising low places for some albums (and not just that at the gates album)

George I think you might like the Flight of Sleipnir.

If I had heard it earlier it woulda been high in my ballot

Great album, it probably should have been higher on my list, I think it just missed my ballot. I guess I'm not crazy about some of the vocals, but they have many of the same elements of my all-time fave Ufomammut.

Thing i love about metal poll is that a lot of the albums in the lower reaches are albums that were really high on ballots its just that not everyone heard them so they didn't get higher in the poll but it gives everyone a chance to hear them now.
Every year I heard quite a few things I love via here.

Yah I halfway suspect this will end up being my favourite stretch of the poll

it is for a lot of people whilst others just like to get to the top 20. different strokes etc

77 Skull Fist - Chasing the Dream 171 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/wwOHP2p.jpg
spotify:album:2FgrtusUOSMIoUh0RkuY79

j3ff to thread

In a lot of polls (i think higher turnout may be the cause) albums low on peoples ballots scrape the top 100 and the handful of votes that were all high albums we get here dont place in those polls and thus make them less interesting.

Is that an ILM thing or a metal thing or just smaller amount of voters?
Or do we all have our own individual tastes rather than voting for the same big bands or this years hype bands?

It's just that the ILM metal community rules above all others.

haha no need for ilx backslapping ( i hate that part of ilx) but is there a statistical reason? I guess that's one for Glenn and Seandalai. What do you both think?

76 Myrkur - Myrkur 173 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/YZVehT3.jpg
http://open.spotify.com/album/6whUmfg024Gl38G9ckicQz
http://myrkur.bandcamp.com/album/myrkur

I believe there was a wee bit of controversy due to sexism in some quarters?

Anyone got the full story?

Polls are weird bcz they tend to reward reach over devotion, if u get me...? Like, event albums that are highly publicized and build a buzz and get a lot of ppl to hear them tend to do well even if a majority of ppl don't really rate it that highly...if you hear a high profile album and don't hate it you almost feel like you ought to put it on yr ballot (or at least I do) even if it is somewhere down in the twenties or thirties, BUT it's precisely that ubiquity that allows it to do better than someone's #1 or #2 pick that only can get three or four others voters to care...

That's why I like the longer rollout' it just happens that ppl like me, Fastnbulbous, La Lechera, yournullfame, sund4r, and even EZ--all our pet albums tend to be the ones that wd be the first to be cut

xxp

All wiki say is Myrkur is the one-woman black metal musical act of Danish musician Amalie Bruun.[1] Myrkur is signed to Relapse Records; initially the real-life identity of the person behind the project was kept unknown

its great stuff anyway. Another nice discovery due to this poll

All this reminded me (not to change the subject off Myrkur) that Dorthia Cottrell from Windhand released a solo album within the padt week...has anyone heard it? Is it any good?

xp interesting I might listen to that

I'd recommend this album to sund4r

next one up btw is a huge shock low entry

The Dorthia Cottrell album isn't out until March. First track, "Gold" came out this week and is amazing. I guess you'd call it Americana or dark folk or something.

http://www.stereogum.com/1724161/dorthia-cottrell-gold/mp3s/

xposts

I see absolutely no info about this Cottrell album. EZ just answered, cool.

I quite like the Myrkur EP. Not earthshattering or anything, but good. And she's now recording her debut with Kristoffer Rygg from Ulver in Oslo.

75 Opeth - Pale Communion 177 Points, 7 votes
http://i.imgur.com/SxUAua8.jpg
spotify:album:0DLImjuzdrOBQKtYLlf3C5

I assume this is more prog than metal and the older fan just dont care anymore?

This album went up and down my list like a yo-yo. Very mood dependent, but I think it's an improvement over the last one. They only played 2 cuts at the show a couple weeks ago and they sounded great! The fans seemed to be into 'em just as much as the older songs they played.

That Skull Fist was really good, really nailed the style without mocking it. If I'd made an EOY list larger than a top ten, it would've made the cut for sure.

I started reading a lot of chatter about Flight of Sleipnir late in the year thus haven't gotten around to hearing it. (Oh, I guess it just came out, now that I've checked its release date.. So that's why.)

edit: hi, Opeth. Sadly I'm one of those "old Opeth" grumps so I think I may have streamed a couple tracks from PC and that was that. MORNINGRISE FOREVER.

74 Mournful Congregation - Concrescence Of The Sophia 186 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/8fEVmvj.jpg
http://listen.20buckspin.com/album/concrescence-of-the-sophia

Until further notice just consider my response to every result, "oh yeah I need to hear that."

I'm with Devilock, there's a ton of albums I apparently missed out on. And I completely forgot Mourthful Congregation made a new album.

Polls are weird bcz they tend to reward reach over devotion, if u get me...? Like, event albums that are highly publicized and build a buzz and get a lot of ppl to hear them tend to do well even if a majority of ppl don't really rate it that highly...if you hear a high profile album and don't hate it you almost feel like you ought to put it on yr ballot (or at least I do) even if it is somewhere down in the twenties or thirties, BUT it's precisely that ubiquity that allows it to do better than someone's #1 or #2 pick that only can get three or four others voters to care...

That's why I like the longer rollout' it just happens that ppl like me, Fastnbulbous, La Lechera, yournullfame, sund4r, and even EZ--all our pet albums tend to be the ones that wd be the first to be cut

― wonderful about a proletariat-Vorticist version of James Brown (Drugs A. Money),

That Skull Fist was really good, really nailed the style without mocking it. If I'd made an EOY list larger than a top ten, it would've made the cut for sure.

― tongues flowering (Devilock),

I wonder if it's because all magazine lists, P&J etc have a small amount of votes allowed.
In this poll you can have up to 50 votes so those big event albums that ppl dont think are that great but feel they got to include that george talks about could still get in a ballot but lower down and the lesser known albums they do like can get a boost.
All polls could benefit from that I think.

73 Petrychor - Makrokosmos 189 Points, 5 votes
http://i.imgur.com/lovYHS5.jpg
http://petrychor.bandcamp.com/album/makrokosmos

The intersection of cosmic and terrestrial influences, music of and from the stars and how we relate to them from our position on Earth. Rest well and travel far, for though you at times may feel that you are without company, hopefully these sounds will remind you that there are others scattered across the globe, who are on a similar journey. Share in it.
credits
released 10 July 2014

Everything: Tad Piecka

I bought this from bandcamp earlier this year thanks to ilm. Bandcamp thread I think by jeff

spacey black metal that la lechera and sund4r might like

Yeah, I voted for Petrychor. I need to be in the mood for it but it's pretty good in a unique way when I am. Myrkur is up my alley so far, as well.

Is it better than Darkspace III I y/n? Cuz I could not get into that album

I'm glad Petrychor got a showing, it's very enjoyable. Anyone who likes Spectral Lore or Mare Cognitum ought to give it a listen.

I don't think I've given the new Opeth much of a chance, but like others I'm surprised to see it that low, I thought it was pretty popular. I've always thought if Opeth could become more focussed they could be more than just fitfully brilliant and largely dull. Now they have more focus, idk, if I want to listen to ye olde progge I'll actually listen to an album made in the 70s rather someone emulating Camel and what have you.

xpost I find Darkspace incredibly boring, Petrychor are a lot brighter/optimistic sounding than them

I haven't really got into Darkspace III so far either fwiw. Petrychor is pretty different imo, not as harsh and undifferentiated. The ambient electronic passages are longer and more heavily emphasized. There are some longer stretches of cleaner proggy rock.

2xpost

72 Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails 190 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/NJDxtrM.jpg
spotify:album:6OuJ8Sq6p9LxBG39PWXoFH

this record is a little much but pretty enjoyable

I remember thinking that album was pretty damned dazzling when I first heard it but didn't give it enough of a follow-up to determine if that was the fireworks effect. Maybe that I didn't come back to it answers the question.

xpost that's another way to put it

brad what metal publications do you read?

infact a question for everybody - what metal publications do you read? print and/or online

i don't read any actually. most of the stuff i listen to is derived from 1) the metal thread, where i mostly listen to people whose tastes align with mine but also occasionally everyone else, which is why i heard a few pretty decent black metal records this year 2) occasionally sift through metallum ratings 3) this one metal album art blog i follow 4)random bandcamps

i mean i should probably actually read more metal publications but i usually have to put a lot of effort into finding metal records i really like

you do seem to have different tastes to a lot of the rolling metal regulars and that is why i was wondering where you heard about stuff

the metal you like seems to be more brutal and technical and a bit different to the emo/pop rock i tend to see you post about. Maybe you like more produced stuff?

71 Inter Arma - The Cavern 190 Points, 7 votes
http://i.imgur.com/ZnryF0Z.jpg
spotify:album:09OwyDCl593yc0blzg6AAk
http://interarma.bandcamp.com/album/the-cavern

I read Terrorizer for a few years but I can't afford it anymore... I mostly go to blogs and get recommendations from friends. Been pretty into slow-tempo "depressive" black metal recently.

70 Towers - II 193 Points, 7 votes
http://i.imgur.com/KKyCZLc.jpg
http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2014/02/11/towers-ii-full-stream/

Most of my metal reading comes from message boards, either metal-archives, NWN, the SomethingAwful metal threads in the music subforum, and here obviously. When they existed, I read Metal Maniacs and random zines like Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Worm Gear, uh ... Pit, and of course Terrorizer, which as mentioned above had to be cut for financial reasons.

I realize zines I used to read migrated to the internet but for some reason I didn't follow them. I'm guessing the internet allowed me to shift my listening to/reading about ratio way in favor of the former. Not sure if that's a good thing but eh.

I really miss Erebus and Teufel's Tomb, two online-only zines I did in fact read.

Er, no, not Teufel's Tomb, that was a zine zine that had an online counterpart, I think. I mean I did like it but that's not what I was thinking of. At some point in the early to mid 00's I lost all my browser bookmarks to a hard drive crash and apparently lost the brain cells required to remember all the stuff I read, as well.

the metal you like seems to be more brutal and technical and a bit different to the emo/pop rock i tend to see you post about. Maybe you like more produced stuff?

oh i listen to everything, man, emo just happens to be the one thing i have a lot of specialized knowledge about. i do like good production! and i tend to gravitate toward brutal, technical death metal yeah, i like the uneven groove that bands in that mode tend to create, like they're building a whirlpool.

Oh yeah and when I remember I check out Stoner Hive.

i've heard nothing but good things about that inter arma record but i haven't listened to it myself

listening to it now, it seems a lot more memorable than Sky Burial, which didn't grab me at all. It's quite mathy in large chunks (Don Caballero a little bit perhaps?), and I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.

I liked Sky Burial a lot

I probably need to give it another spin

xpost to myself but Maelstrom was the other zine I used to read religiously and had presumed defunct but I just looked and apparently it's still going -- so I am the one who is defunct. Though they seem only to have put out two issues this year.

And yeah, I'd thought Pyrrhon would end up on my list but as the year went on it got nudged ever downward. I should give it another spin.

69 Comet Control - s/t 194 Points, 5 votes , One #1
http://i.imgur.com/Clmqkig.jpg
http://open.spotify.com/album/3O0VAkL5J0yzVWPRtyyYgD
http://cometcontrol.bandcamp.com/

haha the Pyrrhon mention I was responding to was in the rolling thread, not here. Jesus.

Enjoying this Saor album. Not the kinda thing I usually listen to but the folk elements are great

damn, been meaning to check out petrychor and saor for a while, my bandcamp wish list is out of control.

inter arma don't quite grab me on record, i think they make more sense live.

I like the parts of that Saor that don't sound like pavilion concerts you'd see on PBS during a fund drive.

Naor, faor, whaoreeeever you aor.

I think I'm the reverse, I don't really like the vocal style but am enjoying the instrumental sections.

hey if we use Nightwish as a baseline, it's pretty heavy shit man.

Oooh Comet Control! I love that album, they're like a hypnagogic Uncle Acid almost

o rilly? that sounds very appealing.

they're great, a successor band to the also-excellent Quest for Frire

Tie
67 AEvangelist - Writhes in the Murk 205 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/9tZdr1w.jpg
spotify:album:5yqMoDpbp7OhXfEMGq4U9F
http://dmp666.bandcamp.com/album/writhes-in-the-murk

67 Shooting Guns - Street Rock 205.0 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/S0lnxMX.jpg

I wonder where the Electric Wizard album will place, it seems pretty divisive.

Also, I wonder if I'm the only person who should be the type to like Shooting Guns but find them boring.

Has anyone started the spotify album playlist? Usually Mordy does that but I can get it started if need be.

http://open.spotify.com/user/pfunkboy/playlist/4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos
spotify:user:pfunkboy:playlist:4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos

Comet Control was my #1

it was linked in the opening post in the thread but there you go

I just saw that you had one posted at on the OP... :/ derp.

66 Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls 209 Points, 8 votes
http://i.imgur.com/79GAEE0.jpg
spotify:album:0RIfXMHvRpLqHsZ0FZE3mS

Shooting Guns is like a cross between Deep Puple and Parson Sound

(At least the stuff they release on dubditchpicnic is)

(Tbh I'm p much game for any stoner/kraut band releasing quasi-dub albums...)

What was the album that got 3 #1 votes but didn't make it?

― jmm, Saturday, December 13, 2014 2:11 AM (Yesterday)

I guess that would be Kriegsmaschine.

Pregnant Light. Got a 4th #1 and ended up in the 80s

Ah. Yeah that's def a love-or-hate album, I couldn't sit through thirty seconds of it.

Lol me neither.

65 Wizard Rifle - Here In The Deadlights 210 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/q9EB6l6.jpg
spotify:album:3a6aXoZErgIpBrFubiqpLa

http://thesludgelord.blogspot.com/2014/10/wizard-rifle-here-in-deadlights-album.html

woot! Too bad I forgot to vote for that. BTW I'm listening to the Myrkur album and it's pretty awesome if you can dig on pretentious atmospheric black metal.

The Myrkur is sonically pleasant but after a few listens I found that there isn't much there musically, apart from the vocals.

64 Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel 214 Points, 7 votes
http://i.imgur.com/leWIgwP.jpg
spotify:album:33nUO3fqIvPePbq6pg1Fgh
http://seasonofmist.bandcamp.com/album/citadel

Prog metal I believe

the aevangelist record maybe isn't the most well-written thing in the world but I love the way it sounds. wish the last godflesh record was produced similarly.

gets nice and moshy at times too

who are these guys? Guessing symphonic black metal?

orchestral prog??

the cover's not screaming "listen to me" I have to admit!

No, very technical progressive/melodic metal, i guess you could call it black metal because of the vocals but it has absolutely nothing to do with Darkthrone and very little with symphonic stuff like Dimmu Borgir.

thanks, I suppose I should check it out now!

63 Nadja - Queller 223 Points, 6 votes, One #1
http://i.imgur.com/bQ6ujmy.jpg
http://nadja.bandcamp.com/album/queller

Re: Ne Obliviscaris - their kind of musical showboating/sensory overload isn't really my thing but they do have a unique sound and I can totally see why they're so highly rated.

62 Atlas Moth - The Old Believer 234 Points, 8 votes
http://i.imgur.com/UNQEQvp.jpg
spotify:album:5w5ANWcCp5ZwmHdZjMhVv9
http://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-old-believer-2

nice, two good albums in a row.

thought atlas moth might be higher.

61 Kayo Dot - Coffins On Io 236 Points, 6 votes
http://i.imgur.com/aYDGRio.jpg
spotify:album:6QqK01lacjpsHZKiqFF0O8
http://theflenser.bandcamp.com/album/coffins-on-io

that's the last one for tonight and no, lj didn't vote

Io's big this year.

too low!

too Io!!

Really nice album, just didn't think of it as metal. I guess "Assassination of Adam" gets heavier, though.

RECAP 102 - 61
102 The Cosmic Dead - Easterfaust 143 Points, 4 votes
tie
100 Autopsy - Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves 143 Points, 5 votes
100 Lantlos - Melting Sun 143 Points, 5 votes
99 Ulaan Markhor - Spiral Horns, Black Onions, et al 144 Points, 4 votes, One #1
98 Seven that Spells - The Death and Resurrection of Krautrock: IO 146 Votes, 3 voters , One #1
97 Death Penalty - Death Penalty 146 Points, 5 votes
96 Ambergris - Ambergris 147 Points, 3 votes, One #1
95 Body Count - Manslaughter 147 Points,6 votes
94 Monarch - Sabbracadaver 148 Points, 6 votes
93 Truckfighters - Universe 152 Points, 5 votes, One #1
Tie
91 Raspberry Bulbs - Privacy 155 Points, 6 votes
91 Coffinworm - IV.I.VIII 155 Points, 6 votes

90 A Pregnant Light - My Game Doesn't Have A Name 156 Points, 4 votes, 1 #1
89 Conan - Blood Eagle 157 Points, 5 votes
88 Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestite 157 Points, 6 votes
87 Wo Fat - The Conjuring 158 Points, 5 votes
86 Karma To Burn - Arch Stanton 160 Points, 4 votes
85 Monster Magnet - Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol 160 Points, 5 votes
84 At The Gates - At War With Reality 161 Points, 5 votes
83 Rigor Mortis - Slaves To The Grave 161 Points, 6 votes
82 Hands Of Orlac - Figli Del Crepuscolo 162 Points, 5 votes

TIE
80 Saor - Aura 163 Points , 5 votes
80 The Great Old Ones - TEKELI-LI 163 Points, 5 votes
79 Bongripper - Miserable 163 Points, 6 votes
78 The Flight of Sleipnir - V. 168 Points, 4 votes
77 Skull Fist - Chasing the Dream 171 Points, 5 votes
76 Myrkur - Myrkur 173 Points, 6 votes
75 Opeth - Pale Communion 177 Points, 7 votes
74 Mournful Congregation - Concrescence Of The Sophia 186 Points, 6 votes
73 Petrychor - Makrokosmos 189 Points, 5 votes
72 Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails 190 Points, 6 votes
71 Inter Arma - The Cavern 190 Points, 7 votes

70 Towers - II 193 Points, 7 votes
69 Comet Control - s/t 194 Points, 5 votes , One #1
Tie
67 AEvangelist - Writhes in the Murk 205 Points, 6 votes
67 Shooting Guns - Street Rock 205.0 6 votes
66 Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls 209 Points, 8 votes
65 Wizard Rifle - Here In The Deadlights 210 Points, 6 votes
64 Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel 214 Points, 7 votes
63 Nadja - Queller 223 Points, 6 votes, One #1
62 Atlas Moth - The Old Believer 234 Points, 8 votes
61 Kayo Dot - Coffins On Io 236 Points, 6 votes

I thought that inter arma EP/song was a lot more immediate than sky burial, reminds me of early Baroness with the doom turned up

only 9 people have subscribed to the playlist no wonder noone else wanted to do it

Hope everyones enjoying the poll, been good chat this year! Lots of really good albums to come!

Will resume countdown tomorrow about 2pm UK time

oh and go nominate lots of metal please ILM's 2014 End of Year Albums & Tracks Poll / NOMINATIONS THREAD

I wish JF would allow the entire top 102 just to be added at the end of nomination if they havent been added.

but please go nominate everything in this countdown!

Seandalai always wants you guys to participate over there

We had a discussion on the nomination thread and it was agreed that all heavy genres, metal or not, were welcome. So maybe not worth bothering assessing metal qualifications.

I was only assessing for my own voting purposes, not judging their inclusion in the poll. The album is pretty soft for the most part imo! (Not a bad thing btw.) I'm happy to see recognition for Kayo Dot anyway. On the other hand, I voted for Sunn O)))/Ulver.

Btw, the Zvi album is recommended to anyone who likes Kayo Dot. It's a solo project of a guitarist from the band. I'd nominated it but it wasn't on the spreadsheet for some reason, at least at first. It sounds a bit like Sunn O))) crossed with Keiji Haino.

Liking the Nadja.

How does it compare to previous albums?

the problem i always have w/ this poll is i can't tell what i should try out and what will sound horrible to me - metal has such an eclectic number of distinct sounds

i did vote for the saor and some of the stoner metal albums (truckfighters, conan, wo fat) and the myrkur which i liked a lot for a very short period of time before getting bored.

- metal has such an eclectic number of distinct sounds

― Mordy,

that's a good thing though. It's also the opposite of what most non-metal people think too.

it's wonderful but it means for any given album i have no idea what i'm gonna get

When did you lose your star?

every time a metalhead intones satan's name backwards a mordy loses a star

I like the pace of the slow roll, because there's been enough time to hear most of each album on Spotify in between.

Mordy I'm willing to bet you'll love Kayo Dot

great list so far! as usual, loads of new discoveries that i'm very intrigued about hearing & some stunning cover art!

I think I voted Wizard Rifle #1, or did my ballot not go through?

catching up after a busy day, sorry, but:

Also, I wonder if I'm the only person who should be the type to like Shooting Guns but find them boring.

― Frobisher, Sunday, December 14, 2014 12:36 PM (Yesterday)

nope, you're not alone. they should be right up my alley, and i have tried several times (mostly thanks to a certain Saskatoon-based metal writer's pimping, i believe) and it just never takes.

its the worst album cover so far too

Anyone around? I can start posting shortly if there are

So far, my favorites on the list are Monarch, Coffinworm, Great Old Ones, and Nadja. I need to hear Ambergris and Petrychor. I listened to Wizard Rifle last night on Spotify and it sounded great. Will be giving it more spins for sure. I wish the dude in A Pregnant Light would find someone else to do the vocals, because the music is killer -- his shouting, though, sounds forced and out of place and one-dimensional. I am loving the countdown and the discussion throughout. Keep 'em coming!

60 The Wounded Kings - Consolamentum 251 Points, 7 votes
http://i.imgur.com/UdzXF2Z.jpg
spotify:album:5yXmGTeBYyUEQekig36NXA
http://candlelightrecordsusa.bandcamp.com/album/consolamentum

where is everybody?

hiya! at work so limited posting time, I liked that Wounded Kings album

59 Stargazer - A Merging to the Boundless 255 Points, 7 votes
http://i.imgur.com/7NvSJUO.jpg
http://nuclearwarnowproductions.bandcamp.com/album/a-merging-to-the-boundless

generally like Stargazer, haven't heard that new album yet.

Adelaide boys

Crazy cover. #236 on RYM chart. Technical death/prog metal. Wounded Kings is #201.

Remember you can subscribe to the results playlist
http://open.spotify.com/user/pfunkboy/playlist/4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos
spotify:user:pfunkboy:playlist:4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos

58 Wovenhand - Refractory Obdurate 262 Points, 7 votes
http://i.imgur.com/cYSxqrw.jpg
spotify:album:3NgDJkCEuunuOB3gipgJBD
http://deathwishinc.bandcamp.com/album/refractory-obdurate

less tech-death, more grind-gore!

woah! Now this seems very low for Wovenhand. Maybe a lot of people just didn't hear it?

weird that this gets recognised in a metal poll but is likely to be ignored in the big poll and whilst its not remotely metal a fair bit of their fanbase is. very intense and lyrically not a million miles from doom metal - hence the appeal.

yeah, not especially metal at all. great album, regardless.

anyone reading that isnt really into metal then that is the album for you to check first.

and if you are into metal then check it too as its really good. Love his other albums and his previous band too.(16 Horsepower)

I suppose it is just straight-up psych rock, maybe a lot of people are purists in their voting.

more gothic country psych

Post-punk gothic Americana, with extra apocalyptic hellfire and brimstone!

Covers he's done with his old band 16 Horsepower are telling -- Joy Division, Gun Club.

Look at their FB post on Dec 12, they quoted my blurb that I published in my year-end summary that morning: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wovenhand-official/189495264425563

"Daily bible passage"
..."Church chat"

Like the Stargazer a lot. I think I voted it around #6 or 7?

These metal musicians voted for Wovenhand in MetalSucks:
Tommy Rogers, Between the Buried and Me
Alan Averill,  Primordial
Dallas Thomas, Pelican/The Swan King 

57 Woods of Desolation - As the Stars 267 Points, 10 votes
http://i.imgur.com/jgqlDtz.jpg
http://woodsofdesolation.bandcamp.com/album/as-the-stars

from their page:

"On this 3rd album, mastermind D. on guitars, with the help of session members (Vlad from Drudkh on drums, Luke Mills from Nazxul and Pestilential Shadows on bass, and Old from Drohtnung on vocals), continues the musical direction which was begun on "Toward The Depths" and refined on the very successful "Torn Beyond Reason."

Can't believe I don't know about this band.

56 Teitanblood - Death 270 Points, 9 votes
http://i.imgur.com/sfWo0Z5.jpg

this is another good one!

didn't get into that WoD album as much as some of their previous work, but i think i found a place for it on my ballot.

found the full Teitanblood album on youtube for your listening convenience:
http://youtu.be/VDRV5FiW-Pc

Also, Wovenhand headlines the Thursday installment of Roadburn. Tix on sale now, anyone going? I really wanted to but am in the middle of trying to sell place and move to new one and can't schedule anything 'til that's over. Russian Circles, Floor, SubRosa, Monolord, Enslaved, Wardruna, Eyehategod, Goblin, Zombi, Fields of the Nephilm, Tombs, Kayo Dot, Solstafir, Thou, Fields of the Nephilim, Death Hawks, White Hills, Lo-Pan, Golden Grass, many more.

http://www.roadburn.com/2014/12/roadburn-festival-2015-day-tickets-now-sale/

55 Dead Congregation - Promulgation Of The Fall 272 Points, 8 votes
http://i.imgur.com/IouiObs.jpg
spotify:album:093ctZKjtMDADth0fJUWAr
http://deadcongregation.bandcamp.com/album/promulgation-of-the-fall

really like that teitanblood record. these guys also nailed the production, really gnarly and disorienting.

These guys had Dead Congregation in their top 10:
George Paul, Mutilation Rites
Lasse Pyykko, Hooded Menace 
Alan Averill,  Primordial
Patrick Alberts, Call of the Void 

For my money, Dead Congregation is way too low! I think I had it at #2 on my ballot. Also, I like Woods of Desolation quite a bit, but the production on the new one seemed like a huge step backward. I don't know why there was such a drop-off in their sound quality since the last record. Anyone know why?

the Dead Congregation record was terrific i thought, but not quite as good as their debut from 2008.

i probably would have rated it higher given more time, it didn't really grab me until late in the year.

54 Fen - Carrion Skies 274 Points, 8 votes
http://i.imgur.com/RsfE1Sn.jpg
spotify:album:5qNepiBgifVuuKIYGc5iBp

Fen and Saor are both a decent listen, they both do the whole post-black thing well but they weren't really striking enough for me to vote for.

Dead Congregation are pretty good from what I remember hearing.

haven't given that Fen album a listen yet since i've always found their brand of folky blackgaze to be a little bit wooden & precious. i'll definitely give it a chance though.

on the other hand, i voted Saor pretty high on my ballot

53 The Oath - The Oath 274 Points, 9 votes
http://i.imgur.com/Kog1TJ9.jpg
spotify:album:3famRI5ZxosCM9Tf7PBjtJ
http://theoath.bandcamp.com/

Not heard this but I've heard good things about it

52 Hail Spirit Noir - Oi Magoi 282 Points, 9 votes
http://i.imgur.com/S41BH2H.jpg
spotify:album:63Yx6ZmNT7cxRdhQCZsfRz
http://hsn666.bandcamp.com/album/oi-magoi

juggalo-affiliated?

hah, no

psychedelic black metal

it's great

yup

yayyy. Kinda busy today but paying attn and youtubing some of the stuff I've missed. HSN was amazing, yeah, it was my #5 (just ahead of Behemoth), though my list was only 10 long. Oi Magoi really clicked for me once I switched from headphones to speakers. It really pulls a room together.

And I was pleased to learn, according to the liner notes/credits, that the cover is an actual photo of an actual person with actual body paint, not a digital concoction.

ah, another one I meant to check out and had forgotten about - whoop whoop!

I guess I wasn't feeling the death metal too much this year. None of the big stuff -- Dead Congregation, Teitanblood, Impetuous Ritual, even Incantation -- really moved me. Last year had Grave Miasma, Suffo, Deeds of Flesh, Abyssal, Obliteration, so much bigness. My #1, however, is pretty much death metal (or blackened death or whatever) and I'll be sure to pipe up when we get there.

Oi Magoi is very much a black metal version of a 70's prog album. But less Darkthrone and more Arcturus re: "black metal." It's kind of light-hearted feeling, too, loose and animated. And choruses that will stick with you. I esp love "Hunters."

tbh i wish id placed it much higher in my ballot

Actually now that I listen to it with Darkthrone in mind, I can hear Darkthrone in the riffs. Weird. Chameleon of an album, I guess.

I don't think I ranked it, but it's a fun album. A lot of 70s prog has a particular kind of tasteless humour about it and this album replicates that nicely.

51 Midnight - No Mercy for Mayhem 290 Points, 8 votes
http://i.imgur.com/KF6bB17.jpg
spotify:album:3MNjrtJfGyBoxoEVjOKIA5
http://hellsheadbangers.bandcamp.com/album/no-mercy-for-mayhem

Another one I've been meaning to check out

As much as I love HH as a distro, their taste in label signings is ... not my thing. They manage to hit all the areas of the extreme metal subgenre venn diagram that shoo me away. Except for Zemial. That Nykta album from last year was great.

I was not super into this one. Too much on the raunch side.

Will you guys be here for the next 5 or will i leave it for the night?

i'll be here...

here - would love more roll-out!

ok then into the
TOP 50

Whoops yeah I'm here, mostly. Enjoying the countdown but you can pace it however you want.

50 Nachtmystium - The World We Left Behind 297 Points, 9 votes
http://i.imgur.com/elqu4i8.jpg
spotify:album:2ERVg9mdqy4VEVreGkAh8P

If there's chat on thread I'll post but if no one is around there is no point. It's the chat that makes these threads imo

so Nachtmystium aren't splitting up at all according to a Terrorizer interview

I'm surprised anyone wants to work with Blake Judd at this point tbh

Even thinking about Nachtmystium at this point makes me feel kind of icky. Everything I've heard about the circumstances of this newest album suggests zero creativity/passion/urgency went into it -- unless we're talking the urgency of paying debts, or of contributing to new ones.

That said, I will give it a listen. And then probably go back to pretending their career began and ended with Instinct:Decay, one of the greatest and most powerful and surprising USBM albums.

me too. surprised the album ranked so high too -it had some pretty terrible reviews.

I haven't heard it either, maybe it's not bad at all but the circumstances surrounding the record left a bad taste in people's mouths regardless of the music.

Well the first song (after the intro) is a lot more toe-tapping and upbeat than I'd been bracing for, even if it does have the expected cruise control element. Very post-punky. Enough to make me curious about the rest of the album so I guess this'll play until something else from the roll-out strikes my fancy.

Eh. On second thought, now that I'm well into the third track, this is ... click track music. Just waiting for it to end, already with a good idea of what's gonna happen.

Sorry Cos, I was replacing a kitchen faucet before I go out of town. I really don't like that Nachtmystium, but TBF it's not objectively horrible ;)

The Oath! Glad to see them acknowledged and not completely forgotten since they broke up before it was even released. Hope to see Johanna Sardonis' (the singer) new band Lucifer someday.

I saw some good reviews and all the bad reviews mentioned the circumstances. I thought it wa a decent album and somewhat in the middle of the reviews. 7/10 id say

maybe 6/10

people have already made the point, but looking at the first 50, it's such a varied list. I've listened to a lot of metal this year, but half this stuff is unfamiliar to me!

xpost to me: And since the next song is an 8 1/2 minute epic I think I'm ready for the next result. Fleeing.

49 Goat - Commune 301 Points, 9 votes
http://i.imgur.com/HXx3wqT.jpg
spotify:album:7uQp0QiuQzOblVPfNQhczi
http://rocketrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/commune

people have already made the point, but looking at the first 50, it's such a varied list. I've listened to a lot of metal this year, but half this stuff is unfamiliar to me!

― auto focus,

I always enjoy the lower part of polls for that reason (plus outside of metal poll that is where all the albums I vote forplace) it gives everyone an incentive to vote.

I know lots of you dont even vote in the big ilm poll because you think its pointless as your picks dont make it.
But get nominating
ILM's 2014 End of Year Albums & Tracks Poll / NOMINATIONS THREAD

and then vote

if everyone who votes here voted in the big poll we could easily get 10 albums in the top 77

A little less hype this time around as it's more of the same, but I think it's better than the first one, with a few nice heavy psych guitar solos.

I will not be surprised if a couple of my more basic black metal noms don't make the countdown. I can see how a lot of people are so over the whole Norwegian second wave (or second wave of the second wave) but I cannot get enough. I'll mention them if they go neglected, obviously.

Also I can't imagine much from my list being of interest to people who don't immerse themselves in metal. Except maybe for Emptiness, oddball band that they are.

Everyone eligible should vote in Pazz & Jop too -- it would be extremely easy for just another 15 to 20 people to make a big difference in esults and raise the profile of a few ILM favorites.

xp

I think that hurt it in the lists and probably here and maybe the big poll too?

not a writer, critic etc so no vote for P&J

48 Mare Cognitum - Phobos Monolith 311 Points, 9 votes
http://i.imgur.com/0CIUalE.jpg
http://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/phobos-monolith

This one I really enjoyed. Space black metal is a thing now! Great cover too

didn't get round to checking this out, but his other albums are really good.

47 Horseback - Piedmont Apocrypha 329 Points, 9 votes
http://i.imgur.com/dbQaCVm.jpg
http://threelobed.bandcamp.com/album/piedmont-apocrypha

oh this is great ^ i just checked it out based on the cover and it's fabulous.

whoever recommended that tzadik blade runner album (coffins on io) was totally otm about me liking it

Big thumbs up on the Mare Cognitum. I imagine Spectral Lore is coming up soon. Hopefully it will beat out the new Darkspace, which I found kinda boring (even though I usually love their stuff).

46 Indian - From All Purity 329 Points, 10 votes
http://i.imgur.com/sIuRyJ2.jpg

spotify:album:1rFCX8VEjIWN35Oe1evxBE
http://indiandoom.bandcamp.com/album/from-all-purity

Chicago’s blackened noise nihilists return to scene with their 4th full length album ‘From All Purity’. On ‘From All Purity’ Indian take their infamously hateful aggression to new levels of despair. Now augmented with an even keener sense of harsh noise, all the trademark elements of Indian’s sound have been refined to reach new lows of powerful and punishing anguish. This is the opposite of easy listening.
credits
released 21 January 2014

That's the last one for tonight hope you are enjoying todays albums

remember to subscribe to the playlist
spotify:user:pfunkboy:playlist:4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos
http://open.spotify.com/user/pfunkboy/playlist/4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos

shame, was hoping indian would be higher! really underrated group

yeah they are. I guess going top 50 is good though

Recap

102 The Cosmic Dead - Easterfaust 143 Points, 4 votes
tie
100 Autopsy - Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves 143 Points, 5 votes
100 Lantlos - Melting Sun 143 Points, 5 votes
99 Ulaan Markhor - Spiral Horns, Black Onions, et al 144 Points, 4 votes, One #1
98 Seven that Spells - The Death and Resurrection of Krautrock: IO 146 Votes, 3 voters , One #1
97 Death Penalty - Death Penalty 146 Points, 5 votes
96 Ambergris - Ambergris 147 Points, 3 votes, One #1
95 Body Count - Manslaughter 147 Points,6 votes
94 Monarch - Sabbracadaver 148 Points, 6 votes
93 Truckfighters - Universe 152 Points, 5 votes, One #1
Tie
91 Raspberry Bulbs - Privacy 155 Points, 6 votes
91 Coffinworm - IV.I.VIII 155 Points, 6 votes

90 A Pregnant Light - My Game Doesn't Have A Name 156 Points, 4 votes, 1 #1
89 Conan - Blood Eagle 157 Points, 5 votes
88 Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestite 157 Points, 6 votes
87 Wo Fat - The Conjuring 158 Points, 5 votes
86 Karma To Burn - Arch Stanton 160 Points, 4 votes
85 Monster Magnet - Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol 160 Points, 5 votes
84 At The Gates - At War With Reality 161 Points, 5 votes
83 Rigor Mortis - Slaves To The Grave 161 Points, 6 votes
82 Hands Of Orlac - Figli Del Crepuscolo 162 Points, 5 votes

TIE
80 Saor - Aura 163 Points , 5 votes
80 The Great Old Ones - TEKELI-LI 163 Points, 5 votes
79 Bongripper - Miserable 163 Points, 6 votes
78 The Flight of Sleipnir - V. 168 Points, 4 votes
77 Skull Fist - Chasing the Dream 171 Points, 5 votes
76 Myrkur - Myrkur 173 Points, 6 votes
75 Opeth - Pale Communion 177 Points, 7 votes
74 Mournful Congregation - Concrescence Of The Sophia 186 Points, 6 votes
73 Petrychor - Makrokosmos 189 Points, 5 votes
72 Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails 190 Points, 6 votes
71 Inter Arma - The Cavern 190 Points, 7 votes

70 Towers - II 193 Points, 7 votes
69 Comet Control - s/t 194 Points, 5 votes , One #1
Tie
67 AEvangelist - Writhes in the Murk 205 Points, 6 votes
67 Shooting Guns - Street Rock 205.0 6 votes
66 Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls 209 Points, 8 votes
65 Wizard Rifle - Here In The Deadlights 210 Points, 6 votes
64 Ne Obliviscaris - Citadel 214 Points, 7 votes
63 Nadja - Queller 223 Points, 6 votes, One #1
62 Atlas Moth - The Old Believer 234 Points, 8 votes
61 Kayo Dot - Coffins On Io 236 Points, 6 votes

60 The Wounded Kings - Consolamentum 251 Points, 7 votes
59 Stargazer - A Merging to the Boundless 255 Points, 7 votes
58 Wovenhand - Refractory Obdurate 262 Points, 7 votes
57 Woods of Desolation - As the Stars 267 Points, 10 votes
56 Teitanblood - Death 270 Points, 9 votes
55 Dead Congregation - Promulgation Of The Fall 272 Points, 8 votes
54 Fen - Carrion Skies 274 Points, 8 votes
53 The Oath - The Oath 274 Points, 9 votes
52 Hail Spirit Noir - Oi Magoi 282 Points, 9 votes
51 Midnight - No Mercy for Mayhem 290 Points, 8 votes

50 Nachtmystium - The World We Left Behind 297 Points, 9 votes
49 Goat - Commune 301 Points, 9 votes
48 Mare Cognitum - Phobos Monolith 311 Points, 9 votes
47 Horseback - Piedmont Apocrypha 329 Points, 9 votes
46 Indian - From All Purity 329 Points, 10 votes

Playlist spotify:user:pfunkboy:playlist:4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos
http://open.spotify.com/user/pfunkboy/playlist/4DzhT7xPiDI3oy9tWVMGos

remember to nominate in
ILM's 2014 End of Year Albums & Tracks Poll / NOMINATIONS THREAD

never heard of Mare Cognitum. looks intriguing.

Loved their previous album but not heard that one yet

Any new discoveries today folks? or thoughts on albums that posted the previous days?

Skull Fist is the first discovery to inspire ballot remorse, I have a hard time getting into a lot of old school metal but kind of like last year's Satan album, is so lively and well-written that it's really clicking for me

glad for teitanblood's death and indian's from all purity, the only albums from my ballot placing at this point
would def expect at war with reality to be higher, yeah. the rec was good - now can we get a new disfear?
great finding about the cosmic dead and most of all wizard rifle

the cosmic dead are great, yeah. got one of their old cds.

SKULL FIST

SKULL FIST

I feel like Swans and Earth have the best chance at making a dent in the big poll

Any new discoveries today folks? or thoughts on albums that posted the previous days?
--Cosmic Slop

really enjoyed that oath album

@anonanon: just confirming that your ballot was received and counted

My favorite discoveries on the list so far have been Wizard Rifle and Petrychor. And I was excited to see hometown Cleveland heroes Midnight place so high.

Indian is exactly what I want to hear at the end of this day. Were they considered an emo/hardcore band at any point? They remind me a bit of bands I saw in the late 90s.

Dylan O'Toole and bassist were from Wrekmeister Harmonies, but I have no idea what they were like. I have The Unquiet Sky (2005) and it's sludge with a bit of noise, nothing too different just less accomplished than the latest.

!:

Wrekmeister Harmonies, led by musician and composer JR Robinson, is an experimental music collective based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Named after the Béla Tarr movie Werckmeister Harmonies, it combines elements of drone music, serialism, post-rock, and heavy metal. Wrekmeister Harmonies typically performs a single composition, often almost an hour in length, beginning with a slow build, shifting into a cathartic middle section, concluding with either a peaceful or disquieting resolution

Wow, second track is even better than the first.

def also have a soft spot for 90s hardcore and I can hear that on the indian record too now that you mention it

mare cognitum kinda bored me after a while but maybe I just wasn't in the mood. but gonna re-visit since y'll seem so psyched on it (and cuz the cover is cool)

skull fist record really is well-crafted

SKULL FIST

I think this is the third time I'm mentioning Wizard Rifle in this thread -- I want to formally thank the folks who put this thing on their ballot. It's a keeper. Christ almighty. Am I nuts or am I hearing some Cirith Ungol in there? Killer cover art too.

On an unrelated note genre-wise, I had been wondering if any funeral doom surprises would show up in the list this year, but now I'm thinking probably not. Monarch is sort of funeral-y I guess and Mournful Congregation is nice. Were there any other noteworthy funeral doom records this year? Anyone knocked out by anything in that vein?

Can't wait for tomorrow's countdown continuation...

xps thanks seandalai

Wizard Rifle was my #1, they just keep delivering what I love most in metal, the skillful manipulation of tension and release for maximum drama, relentlessly piling waves of riffs and swirling chaos that suddenly crystallize into towering peaks with a kind of vertiginous clarity only to implode in on themselves

The Oath and Wizard Rifle so far.

I think Guiltess, Indian's last album, is where they made a big leap in their sound, worth checking out.

I liked The Oath a lot, reminded me of like a skeletal, streamlined version of In Solitude

That Great Old Ones record is v good, will be going back to that, ditto Wovenhand. I need to check out Indian, The Oath, SKULL FIST, Fen, the list goes on!

Of the few things I've checked out I'd say the Fen album has been my favourite so far, keen to hear the Wovenhand though.

Glad everyones enjoying the countdown. Some big albums/bands have started to appear now but can anyone guess the order?

I'm encouraged by the love for Skull Fist. Hopefully everyone didn't sleep on Dawnbringer.

http://www.angrymetalguy.com/things-might-missed-dawnbringer-night-hammer/

i havent even seen any reviews for that. Is it actually out?

45 Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen 333 Points, 11 votes
http://i.imgur.com/S36OSGe.jpg
spotify:album:3PoyHOYbmI7b0wLKz2ztyQ

Aw jeez. Yes, Dawnbringer has been out and easily available: https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/night-of-the-hammer

44 The Body - I Shall Die Here 335 Points 10 votes
http://i.imgur.com/S3kvwfD.jpg
http://thebody.bandcamp.com/album/i-shall-die-here

dead again today i see

Well I just woke up!

Listening to the new Fen right now. Another band I didn't know released an album this year...

43 Thantifaxath - Sacred White Noise 337 Points, 9 votes
http://i.imgur.com/qptkwLJ.jpg
spotify:album:5jxBi6eZrzosLglD1l23XG
http://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sacred-white-noise

sund4r turned me on to this. He loved it

I dunno if any of you have been following it but Erik Wunder has sacked Phil McSorley (from Cobalt) for his vile posts on facebook recently. Im glad he did this as mcsorley's recent posts inc attacking several fb friends of mine has been disgusting.

yo Slop i never vote in this out of deference to those who've heard more than 3 or 4 metal albums this year

can vouch for the brilliance of the Petrychor

anything here I might like? sorry this is really selfish of me but just yknow 3 or 4 albums and i'm good

quite a few things actually. check out the playlist

42 Eyehategod - Eyehategod 339 Points, 11 votes
http://i.imgur.com/PZhsaTx.jpg
spotify:album:6hDzNDmnizmKhdwbQr4KPa
http://eyehategod.bandcamp.com/

louis you will like a lot of things on sund4r's ballot as well as mine. wont reveal those just yet but checked out stuff that's placed like Horseback, Thantifaxath, The Body, Myrkur, Mare Cognitum, Hail Spirit Noir , Wovenhand..

The Thantifaxath album fucking rules

oh louis also check out Ulaan Markhor and Ambergris

if any of you guys reviewed anything that has placed (or when I post stuff that you have reviewed) it would be very nice if you could posts links to it. I know lots of readers of this thread would appreciate it as would I. (I just dont have the time to do it myself as I need to find other links)

oh waaaait I heard Ambergris as well yeah, fucking amazing aye

41 Horrendous - Ecdysis 349 Points, 9 votes
http://i.imgur.com/OV8LIA1.jpg
spotify:album:1kkcolZkWXDRxGBwX4UwTn
http://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ecdysis

never heard of this band but judging by the cover its death metal?

It's like a death metal band playing old-school heavy metal.

whaaat never heard of them? That album is stellar and has been the subject of much rightful buzz!

Dammit I wanted to post a screencap from the time Phil McSorley was a guest on Fox News but it seems to have fallen into an internet black hole.

wow, 41-45 are all - except The Body, probably - records that got lots of love 'round here and I would've expected to be higher on the list. a powerhouse group there.

(no slight to The Body, who are awesome)

Loved the Thantifaxath record.

And that Horrendous was my #3, I've listened it obsessively since it came out. There are definitely some heavy metal aspects to it but to me it sounds like a weird, progressive (not wanky or technical) extension of the OSDM thing, whether Swedish, Dutch, or American. Their previous album--the debut--was straight up Death/Pestilence/Entombed worship (if it's possible to be a "straight up" iteration of a blend), and also it was awesome, but Ecdysis kind of deconstructs and reconfigures the hoary old death metal tropes into a totally new monster. It's too skeletal to sound complex but it's definitely not simplistic death metal. It's difficult to describe but easy to listen to.

Loved Thantifaxath when I first heard it but for some reason revisits have yielded diminished returns. There are like 3 excellent songs (the first one, "Panic Becomes Despair," and ... uh, another one somewhere in the middle which I forget) but the rest of it doesn't grip me the same way. Of course three excellent songs are half the album, ha.

Listening now and 'Gasping In Darkness' is superlative

well another big name up next and a welcome return to form

and it has a cat on the album cover

I feel the same way about the Thantifaxath album. I keep waiting for the initial excitement I felt on first listen to return, but it keeps not returning. I find myself admiring it more than actually enjoying it. The Horrendous album is awesome. I don't usually go for contemporary OSDM, but for some reason "Ecdysis" works for me from start to finish. Nice variety, strong songs, well produced. In general, when I hear the standard Boss HM-2 pedal tone these days, I tend to run in the other direction, but I have to say it's really well-deployed here (not sure if Horrendous actually uses the Boss pedal, but it sure sounds like it).

40 Boris - Noise 353 Points, 11 votes
http://i.imgur.com/79gnFza.jpg
spotify:album:7reWhqMbiDp0qH8KMBGoTV
http://boris.bandcamp.com/album/noise

nice to see that make the top 50!

A shame most people gave up on them tbh and the new fans certainly didn't hang around once they weren't hip anymore but its a damn good album.

just going through the spotify list now

ulaan markhor & death penalty are JAMS

when I hear the standard Boss HM-2 pedal tone these days, I tend to run in the other direction

No kidding. I actually started looking forward to the new Bloodbath after the first track was released; Nick's vocal style piqued my interest. But ugh that guitar. I couldn't even get through the Amazon mp3 samples.

I should add that Ecdysis doesn't have quite the obnoxiously buzzing, weirdly concave guitar sound associated with the classic Swedeath bands. It's more polished than that. Still a little buzzy though.

I only dip in and out of Boris' discography but I thought Noise was great. Angel is a jam

39 Dawnbringer - Night of the Hammer 356 Points, 11 votes
http://i.imgur.com/wcLR1jp.jpg
spotify:album:1x7NCFtoPYP8LsPNgxiViL
http://i.imgur.com/wcLR1jp.jpg

http://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/night-of-the-hammer

fastnbulbous can rest easy now

Were there any other noteworthy funeral doom records this year? Anyone knocked out by anything in that vein?

Ea just missed out it was #110 as i decided on sticking to a top 100(ok 102) this year

Some good albums just missed out actually inc quite a few some may have expected to place

I have a feeling Jute Gyte may have missed out, twice, since the likelihood is that if you voted for one album you voted for the other. I might be wrong.

Yaaasssss. Also, who gave up on Boris? Their shows are always sold out.

38 Morbus Chron - Sweven 358 Points , 10 votes, One #1
http://i.imgur.com/ChHjjiW.jpg

spotify:album:3Cr9wXHP7u3EejI1Bo9yQQ

I love that Dawnbringer album so much, a real melancholy feeling too it, think it was in my top 5. The Horrendous album is excellent too.

If Horrendous is coming in already then I have no hope for Domains, Diocletian, or The Deathtrip. But we shall see!

edit: crap I need to hear Sweven. I really liked their first album and they seem to have taken a similar tack to Horrendous, if more psychedelically so -- from what I've read, anyway.

That pic reminded me of a cornfield near us that had an abandoned farmhouse with food left on the plates (from 20+ yrs ago), and a hole in the bedroom wall upstairs with bloodstains. We had snuck in and found that, and went running screaming, and got lost in the field for a bit as the stalks were much higher than our 10 yr-old selves. We imagined someone stalking us with a sledgehammer not unlike Mr. Black in the picture.

It's that part of the poll where people think albums are too low but others realise their pet lesser known faves aren't gonna make it yet haven't fully given up hope yet.

im guessing the primitive man split with fister isn't going to make the top 30......

The Quietus Top 20 Metal Albums Of 2015

1. Yob - Clearing The Path To Ascend (Neurot)
2. The Body - I Shall Die Here (RVNG International)
3. Sólstafir - Ótta (Season Of Mist)
4. At The Gates - At War With Reality (Century Media)
5. Floor - Oblation (Season Of Mist)
6. Old Man Gloom - Ape Of God (Profound Lore)
7. Electric Wizard - Time To Die (Spinefarm/Witchfinder Records)
8. Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire (Avalanche)
9. Nothing - Guilty Of Everything (Relapse)
10. Triptykon - Melana Chasmata (Century Media)
11. 11Paranoias - Stealing Fire From Heaven (Ritual Productions)
12. Bong - Stoner Rock (Ritual Productions)
13. Trap Them - Blissfucker (Prosthetic)
14. Full Of Hell + Merzbow - Full Of Hell + Merzbow (Profound Lore)
15. Witch Mountain - Mobile Of Angels (Svart)
16. Bongripper - Miserable (Great Barrier Records)
17. Vampillia - Some Nightmares Take You Aurora Rainbow Darkness(Candlelight)
18. Prizehog - Re-Unvent The Whool (Eolian Empire)
19. Slomatics - Estron (Head Of Crom)
20. Coffinworm - IV .I. VIII (Profound Lore)

I checked out Morbus Chron on a whim around voting time and it made my ballot, I'm not huge on DM but it's nicely psychedelic, from what I've heard a lot more so than their first album

fuck, the Quietus list reminds me that I forgot to both vote for Yob and nominate any of the like 9 albums Vampillia released this year

xxxpost

Oh there are some I've never even bothered hoping for, haha. Judging by the hype level of that Horrendous around the internets, however, versus something like Domains' Sinister Ceremonies, which to me is way better but didn't get talked up enough, I was certain it wouldn't land til somewhere in the top 20 or maybe even 10.

and yeah Morbus Chron's first album can pretty much be described in the same way I described that of Horrendous.

11Paranoias is okay but there were several albums that did what they tried to do much better -- Serpent Venom, The Well, Satan's Satyrs, Cardinal's Folly, etc.

37 Spectral Lore - III 360 Points, 12 votes, One #1
http://i.imgur.com/Aqz2EiG.jpg
http://spectrallore.bandcamp.com/

morbus chron was my no. 1. i didn't even really care for it the first time i heard it but it just kept getting deeper and more mesmerizing on relistens

I've already given up hope for a top10 placing for Goatpenis.

That sole #1 vote for Spectral Lore might have been me, I can't remember. It's like everything I want from modern black metal rolled into one record (albeit a very long one). Love it.

36 Nux Vomica - Nux Vomica 366 Points, 11 votes
http://i.imgur.com/BG5Vg8i.jpg
spotify:album:1M7jKEZHhLo8psVGZolfmb
http://nuxvomicaband.bandcamp.com/

did jon/via/chi quit ilx? he usually votes but not this time nor have i seen him post

Nice Quietus list, glad to see some love for that Bong record.

― ƋППṍӮɨ∏ğڵșěᶉᶇдM℮ (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, December 16, 2014 2:11 PM (1 minute ago)

man, super surprised the horrendous album already showed up. thought that'd be top 10 for sure.

Nux Vomica is fantastic. It grew on me a lot this year. I thought it was a bit patchwork-y at first, long songs cobbled together from unrelated pieces. But whatever, I like "Supper's Ready" too.

the second track is fantastic. Neurosis fans should love it

Listening to a stream of Sweven and this is definitely not a "first time's the charm!" kind of album experience. Sounds interesting though, with lots of little, cool parts. I would need to be in a way more focused mindset to get it.

Nux Vomica was my #3, another album with fantastic tension-build and cathartic release based on coherent, structured song writing not just mindless riff pileup

the payoff riff that kicks in at 9:05 of Choked at the Roots is one my favorite moments of the year, so damn satisfying

35 Have A Nice Life - The Unnatural World 373 Points, 11 votes
http://i.imgur.com/qZyTjiW.jpg
spotify:album:5joOAwc2cphlgIpVq8fhgd
http://theflenser.bandcamp.com/album/the-unnatural-world

a suprisingly large portion of the Morbus Chron are those sections of languid clean guitar, I liked it more and more as those grew on me

In a way that I can't quantify, Sweven reminds me, every once in a while, of Opeth's first album; maybe it's the shared Swedish heritage and (probably) shared record collection. The middle part of the album, "It Stretches in the Hollow," "Ripening Life," and "The Perennial Link," are wowing me much more than the preceding tracks.

And I'm gonna have to check out #35 there because I have no idea wtf.

HANL aren't metal at all, more like dour lo-fi shoegaze. Some people seem to think they have black metal elements but I don't hear it. I quite like them though.

Have A Nice Life are great. There was a big buzz around theor 1st album a few years ago and that was the follow up. I have both

34 Gridlink - Longhena 376 Points, 10 votes , TWO #1s
http://i.imgur.com/YjnCFBv.jpg
http://handshakeinc.bandcamp.com/album/longhena

GRIDLINK

brilliant - i heard this way too late to vote. surprised to see it so high

i like what ive heard of Have A Nice Life. but yeah not really metal

amazing album, probably the worst cover art of the whole poll though :( xp

the artwork and title make it look like some weird brochure for formula 1

wow this is dope, the cover is terrible but also amusing in that it's totally deceptive

nah i love the gridlink art

I thought Gridlink would approach or even crack the top 10, it's about as accessible as grind gets

Gridlink was my #1. It kind of blew my mind. I didn't know they made grindcore like this.

I tried to post a bit ago but site seemed to be down. HANL a cool album, and while we definitely nominated a ton of non-metal, this is not even remotely heavy. Fascinating how it got so many votes! Maybe I should have nominated Dark Blue - Pure Reality along the lines of Beastmilk last year.

HANL made the poll previously though and have a fair few fans on ilm. Maybe it might make big poll if the shoegaze fans hear it

33 Witch Mountain - Mobile of Angels 378 Points, 15 votes
http://i.imgur.com/IwKXuq5.jpg
spotify:album:15j8nailz7s4oxlpNjsTDh
http://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/mobile-of-angels

thought WM would post higher.