2014 POLL RESULTS COUNTDOWN - ILM Metal Albums of the Year

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.

Gridlink is suitably insane. I feel like I'm in a Michael Mann or Tony Scott movie while someone fast-forwards an album by The Crown. Not the kind of grind I'm used to but it makes a vivid impression!

I'll end up with a "Top 20 Albums That Should Have Made My Top 10" list.

15 votes is not bad, considering WM didn't get a fraction of the marketing and hype as a lot of other stuff.

32 Thou - Heathen 392 Points, 12 votes
http://i.imgur.com/AL4Btn7.jpg
spotify:album:1KNPeBXROZ71EG0g4zlt8B
http://thou.bandcamp.com/album/heathen

One more to come after this

finishing tomorrow?

I ranked the Gridlink high but would have ranked it even higher if it had just a bit more of the noise and grit of their last album in it

I'm with Fastnbulbous, I'm kinda amazed that Have A Nice Life finished so high on a thread where the discussion tends to pretty consistently focus on things that are more traditionally metal. I mean, it beat Spectral Lore and Thantifaxath and Horrendous and Primoridial ... that's pretty stunning, imo.

None of which is bad, or a dig at anyone here or the thread, of course.

Siegbran: Thanks for the Wijlen Wij and Ea recommendations up-thread. I'll check them both out. I was one of the folks who voted for Have a Nice Life. I agree that they're not metal at all, but they can be pretty heavy at times. It's cool to see Spectral Lore in the top 40! I adore that album -- think I had it at #3 or #4.

no, thursday i think.
xp
unless everyone wants 10 a day so it finishes friday but traditionally I finish it on a thursday as it allows friday for people to discuss it instead of working.

it also allows for extra time if ilx is down or im ill etc

I think with HANL (and maybe other things like woven hand) is that people really really rate them but theyre quite unknown so want to boost their profile in the poll.

I ranked the Gridlink high but would have ranked it even higher if it had just a bit more of the noise and grit of their last album in it

I love the clarity on this one. It gives the chaos kind of an aerial feel, like it's all set against a beautiful clear blue sky.

Here is stereogums top 50 metal albums.

50. Old Man Gloom - The Ape Of God
49. Piss Vortex - Piss Vortex
48. Ides Of Gemini - Old World New Wave
47. Psalm Zero - The Drain
46. Anguish - Mountain
45. Incantation - Dirges Of Elysium
44. Witch Mountain - Mobile Of Angels
43. Yautja - Songs Of Descent
42. Ingurgitating Oblivion - Continuum Of Absence
41. A Pregnant Light - My Game Doesn’t Have A Name
40. Triptykon - Melana Chasmata
39. Tombs - Savage Gold
38. Diskord - Oscillation
37. Sargeist - The Crawling Shadows
36. Jute Gyte - Vast Chains
35. Krieg - Transient
34. Brutal Blues - Brutal Blues
33. Emptiness - Nothing But the Whole
32. Nasheim - Solens Vemod
31. High Spirits - You Are Here
30. Couch Slut - My Life As A Woman
29. Fluisteraars - Dromers
28. Abigor - Leytmotif Luzifer
27. Diocletian - Gesundrian
26. Slugdge - Gastronomicon
25. Godflesh - A World Lit Only By Fire
24. Teitanblood - Death
23. Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden
22. Falls Of Rauros - Believe In No Coming Shore
21. Giant Squid - Minoans
20. Gridlink - Longhena
19. Panopticon - Roads To The North
18. Sivyj Yar - From The Dead Villages' Darkness
17. Behemoth - The Satanist
16. Thantifaxath - Sacred White Noise
15. Indian - From All Purity
14. Dead Congregation - Promulgation Of The Fall
13. Winterfylleth - The Divination Of Antiquity
12. Martyrdöd - Elddop
11. Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
10. Artificial Brain - Labyrinth Constellation
09. Thou - Heathen
08. At The Gates - At War With Reality
07. Woods Of Desolation - As The Stars
06. Morbus Chron - Sweven
05. Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere
04. Nux Vomica - Nux Vomica
03. Horrendous - Ecdysis
02. YOB - Clearing The Path To Ascend
01. Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta III - Saturnian Poetry