Once more the site gets its annual prod awake for the Top 50 Album list! There follow the fifty albums that have had me coming back for more, just one list this year so you will see a fair few heavier albums in there as I’ve been listening to far more of that than ever this year.
50. The Drones – Feelin’ Kinda Free
49. Amber Arcades – Fading Lines
48. Oathbreaker – Rheia
47. MAKE – Pilgrimage of Loathing
46. Holy Fuck – Congrats
45. Mogwai – Atomic
44. Cobalt – Slow Forever
43. Dinosaur Jr – Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not
42. Bob Mould – Patch The Sky
41. Kvelertak – Nattesferd
40. UADA – Devoid of Light
39. The Dillinger Escape Plan – Dissociation
38. Ulver – ATGCLVLSSCAP
37. Oranssi Pazuzu – Värähtelijä
36. NAILS – You Will Never Be One Of Us
35. Hesychast – Ageless
34. Hermóðr – The Darkness of December & Carved In Ice
33. Moderat – III
32. Vindland – Hanter Savet
31. Steve Mason – Meet The Humans
30. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Skeleton Tree
29. Årabrot – The Gospel
28. If These Trees Could Talk – The Bones of a Dying World
27. Harakiri For The Sky – III: Trauma
26. Melt Yourself Down – Last Evenings On Earth
25. Woman Is The Earth – Torch Of Our Final Night
24. Ash Borer – The Irrepassable Gate
23. The Radio Dept. – Running Out Of Love
22. Vukari – DIVINATION
21. Wire – Nocturnal Koreans
20. Old Graves – Long Shadows
19. Eagulls – Ullages
18. Deftones – Gore
17. Bossk – Audio Noir
16. Arx Atrata – Spiritus In Terra
15. Ashbringer – Yūgen
14. Saor – Guardians
13. Sojourner – Empires Of Ash
12. School Of Seven Bells – SVIIB
11. Pye Corner Audio – Stasis
10. Fuath – I
Less Folk inspired, more epic hypnotic riffs than Andy Marshall’s other project Saor, this four track monster lodged itself in my brain the moment I first heard it way back in February!
9. Russian Circles – Guidance
Their best album so far? Possibly. Excellent instrumental post-rock/metal from Chicago.
8. Preoccupations – Preoccupations
Change of name and another self titled album from the band that were once Women, then Viet Cong, now Preoccupations. Excellent post punk that is like a darker more intense Interpol!
7. ColdWorld – Autumn
Beautiful, bleak and stirring stuff. The mix of harsh and clean vocals, especially on the track Void, works really well.
6. Alcest – Kodama
I nearly didn’t bother with this album after the last one Shelter left me totally cold and unimpressed with how Niege had dropped all the heavy elements that made previous albums so great. But hallelujah, Kodama is the best thing he’s done since Écailles De Lune!
5. Crippled Black Phoenix – Bronze
Can this band do no wrong? Another fantastic 78 minutes of epic rock, in my opinion possibly their best since I, Vigilante.
4. Car Seat Headrest – Teens Of Denial
Excellent album of indie rock that contains more than its fair share of earworm inducing songs! I couldn’t get one refrain from Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales out of my head for days!
3. Oak Pantheon – In Pieces
I could not stop playing this album when I first heard it, huge expansive tracks of progressive atmospheric black metal. Parts of which reminded me of Opeth of old!
2. Selvans / Downfall Of Nur – Downfall Of Nur / Selvans
Wow, this one knocked me for six, another album that demanded daily plays off me for more than a week! Fantastically flowing 4 track concept album about the Sun and the Moon from this collaboration between Selvans from Italy and Downfall of Nur from Argentina. Just brilliant.
1. Cult Of Luna & Julie Christmas – Mariner
So here it is, the number one. No big surprise really, it’s been at the top since it came out in April and it would have taken something like a new Tool album to knock this beast off top spot! Also seeing them doing it all live at this year’s Damnation festival was the best thing I’ve seen for years!
