2014 POLL RESULTS COUNTDOWN - ILM Metal Albums of the Year

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