Over the holidays, a good friend of mine suggested I create a “Top Metal Albums” list to go along with my plethora of other year-end lists. I at first scoffed at the idea. I’m far from an expert in metal, and when I do listen to it, my interests almost exclusively lie within the genre of doom. I completely ignored some of the most lauded metal albums of the year (Thou, Old Man Gloom, Godflesh) due simply to my inability to get past the grating vocals. Calling me a metal aficionado is like calling a guy who orders ShockTop a beer snob. Despite my limited metal knowledge, I do take pride in the fact that there were five metal albums on my “Top 40 Albums of 2014” list. In fact, my year end list featured more metal albums than all of the following publications’ year-end lists combined: All Music Guide, Alternative Press, A.V. Club, CMJ, Consequence of Sound, Drowned in Sound, Entertainment Weekly, Magnet Magazine, MOJO, NME, NPR, Paste, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Spin, and Under the Radar (Rolling Stone put YOB at #50, NPR featured Pallbearer, and Spin had Earth – yes, I spent time scouring every single list). Now, more than any other genre, metal is mutating and evolving in fascinating ways, yet major music media outlets don’t give these innovative musicians the credit they deserve. I stand by the following “Top 10 Metal Albums” list, but please keep in mind this small caveat: I’m still just a metal-neophyte. However, if you have also found yourself intrigued by the allure of the dangerous world of heavy metal, follow me as I introduce you to some of the fiercer beasts of 2014.
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Top 10 Metal Albums of 2014
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Tagged as agalloch, as the stars, best metal albums, best metal albums 2014, clearing the path to ascend, dark space III I, darkspace, electric wizard, foundation of burden, lantlos, Melting sun, pallbearer, Time to Die, top albums, top albums 2014, top metal albums, top metal albums of 2014, woods of desolation, YOB
The Top 40 Albums of 2014 (20-1)
A few days ago I posted the first 20 in my “Top 40 Albums of 2014” list (check it out here). Below you will find this year’s edition of what I consider the top 20 albums of the year. You’ll find albums from varying genres and possibly a few albums that are new to you. I think it’s important to note what I define as a top caliber album. Great songs are always a plus, but more important to me is the ability of an artist to create a series of songs that tell a story, that convey an overall theme, that complement each other, and that make the listener think differently about the human experience. We are moving into an age where most consumers are more concerned with hit songs, which is why I feel compelled to highlight those musicians that have stayed honest to the age-old art of The Album and created something that’s about the whole and not a couple catchy songs.
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Tagged as agalloch, ariel pink, benji, best albums, best albums of 2014, best of 2014, caribou, clearing the path to ascend, cloud nothings, cult of youth, cymbals eat guitars, damon albarn, Everyday Robots, Final Days, fuck off get free we pour light on everything, grouper, here and no where else, indie, lose, lost in the dream, merge records, more than any other day, music, ought, our love, perfume genius, pom pom, ruins, run the jewels, run the jewels 2, spoon, st. vincent, sun kil moon, swans, the serpeant & the sphere, the war on drugs, thee mt. zion memorial orchestra, they want my soul, to be kind, too bright, top albums, top albums of 2014, war on drugs, with light and with love, Woods, YOB
Top 20 Albums of 2014 (So Far…)
We are almost to the mid-point of 2014, and there have already been some outstanding releases. With a promising second half of the year ahead of us, I’d like to take a moment to spotlight some of my favorite albums from the year so far. To try to keep some semblance of control, I’ve limited my list to albums released prior to June 1st.
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Tagged as 2014, a-trak, agalloch, amusement, antwon, as the stars, atlas, ausmuteants, benji, best albums of 2014, best of 2014, chad vangaalen, cloud nothings, damon albarn, duck sauce, ema, Everyday Robots, fuck off get free we pour light on everything, have a nice life, heavy hearted in doldrums, here and no where else, lantlos, liars, lost in the dream, Melting sun, mess, more than any other day, ought, past life martyred saints, quack, real estate, Shrink dust, st. vincent, sun kil moon, swans, the serpeant & the sphere, the unnatural world, thee silver mt. zion memorial orchestra, to be kind, top albums of 2014, war on drugs, with light and with love, Woods, woods of desolation