Albums of 2008

I bought quite a few good albums this year, but most of them were old ones. However, I shall now pass judgement on the new releases to have come my way.

Best

Totalselfhatred - "Totalselfhatred": this debut release is a depressive black metal tour-de-force, both abrasive and melodic. The name is quite apt, as every track is dark and aggressive in its own way.

Draconian - "Turning Season Within": another flawless doom/gothic metal release from the Swedes. No real progression from previous works here, but just a refinement on the formula.

Before The Dawn - "Soundscape Of Silence": great melodic metal. Too much real singing for melodeath, too aggressive for gothic metal, too melodic and harmony-driven for thrash, Before The Dawn sit somewhere in the middle. This one lacks a classic track like its predecessor's "Deadsong", and takes a bit more getting used to, but is worth the effort.

Eluveitie - "Slania": interesting album, being split broadly three ways into acoustic/folk tracks, stereotypical folk metal numbers, and almost straight up melodic death metal sounding almost identical to Dark Tranquillity's last two albums. It's the second of these that has doubtless endeared them to the fickle crowds of today, but the latter aspect is perhaps the most impressive to me. There are enough great riffs that you don't even notice the fiddle and hurdy-gurdy after a while.

Forest of Shadows - "Six Waves Of Woe": now this, I had been waiting a long time for. The quiet sections are longer and there's more singing and less growling on it, so at a first listen it can seem a bit of a step down in the metal stakes. But after a couple of listens you note that the heavy parts are just as forceful as ever, except now the contrast is even starker than before. There are definite strains of Katatonia here, both mid and late period, but the textures added to those renders this completely unique.

Runners up

Funeral - "As The Light Does The Shadow": this follow-up to "From These Wounds" is not quite as good, or as heavy, moving even further from their funeral doom rooms. But there are still some great songs on it, if given a chance. The only real downside is the track featuring Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus singer Rob Lowe, which breaks the flow somewhat.

Doom:VS - "Dead Words Speak": another solid album of heavier-than-Draconian music from the Draconian guy. The singing to growling ratio has gone up on this one (which seems to be a trend for these albums) but generally speaking it's more of the same, heavy, slow, melodic.

Daylight Dies - "Lost To The Living": it's a great album, and undeniably a continuation of what went before, but it just doesn't grab me as much as the first two albums did. I think it's perhaps because it's flirting with the "progressive" tag a little more than I'm comfortable with.

Swallow The Sun - "Plague Of Butterflies": this one track, 34 minute EP (if you discount the demo tracks appended to the end) is a great piece of work. My only problem with it is that - lyrics aside - there's not much continuity between the sections, so it may as well have been 3 or 4 separate tracks. It also sags a fair bit in the middle ten minutes, which is a shame.

Amon Amarth - "Twilight of the Thunder God": this was previously in the 'best' category until I revisited it a few days ago. As with previous Amon Amarth albums, this is mostly identical to the last Amon Amarth album. ;) That's not a bad thing in itself, but when you don't have much scope either musical or lyrical to play with, it's probably best to keep your albums short and snappy. This one is 10 tracks long, at least 2 longer than it should be, and the middle is all much of a likeness. And I swear that about 6 of the songs are about Someones of Somewhere, steadfast guardians against the Others.

Other 'notables'

Mourning Beloveth - "A Disease For The Ages": this has great doom metal mix but seems to be bereft of memorable songs or riffs. The other two albums I own by them have some really good hooks, so what happened here?

Metallica - "Death Magnetic": it's alright.

Ihsahn - "AngL": I have listened to this album 10.88 times, and I still don't get it. With the exception of the track "Malediction", it still feels like music being quirky for the sake of it. Like Dream Theater with laryngitis. That's not to say it's bad - there's 47 minutes of well executed progressive black metal here - but I think it really lacks the hooks that Emperor had.

Opeth - "Watershed": what the fuck was this? I mean, really? It's barely listenable with the self-indulgent samples and background noise. It goes beyond being pure art produced without heed for an audience, into the realms of being deliberately obscure and difficult in order to test the faithful's devotion. Only "Porcelain Heart" on there makes it into the "ok" category.

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Next year, I am looking forward to:

- Paradise Lost (even heavier than the last one, apparently. Being produced by Jens Bogren!)
- Katatonia (it'll be interesting to see where they go now, since the last couple of albums have been quite similar)
- Forest Stream (the long awaited successor to Tears Of Mortal Solitude should finally arrive!)
- Dawn Of Solace (album 2 is due any time now)
- Dark Tranquillity (Fiction and Character were virtually the same album. Can a new bassist bring a new direction?)
- Grey Skies Fallen (barely known doom band from the East Coast of the USA with a very distinctive sound, finally getting their act together for a 4th album)
- The Prophecy (3rd album, supposedly more 'progressive', but thankfully the samples on MySpace don't sound excessively so.)
- Sirenia (must be time for album number 4 with singer number 4, no?)
- the first Twilight's Embrace demo (which should be like a mixture of the previous 8 bands, except better. Obviously.)