Your top music albums of 2011

[Aepriz]

Seems about that time for a thread like this.

Choose how many you want to list yourself, both EP's and LP's are allowed.

I'm going for a top 30 (It was a great year);
- 1-10 is mainly Progressive metal
- 20-30 has hardcore, indie and folk as well as metal.

#1. NAMI - "Fragile Alignments" (Genre: Progressive metal, Jazz-Fusion)
--> I wrote a review for it, pretty long one it seem.

#2. White Arms Of Athena - "Astrodrama" (Genre: Progressive metal)
--> I'm a sucker for all that neo-classical arpeggio filled progressive metal stuff. And damn, this album is nothing more then arpeggio after arpeggio after arpeggio. Little extreme even (The Recreationed + Chakra crown combo especially). If you're a guitarist don't listen to this Album as a whole as you might cry yourself to sleep for the days to come. Also reviewed this one too!

#3. The Human Abstract - "Digital Veil" (Genre: Progressive metal, Metalcore)
--> Been posting this band a lot in the "what are you listening to" thread, so this was to be expected. This is Neo-classical metal in the most obvious way. ex= The song Antebellum is a classical sonata made by a metal band.

#4. Cynic - "Carbon-based anatomy" (Genre: Progressive metal, Jazz-fusion)
--> Much like NAMI, this band showcases immensely good song writing, they also started to experiment more with this release (and deviate even more from the Death metal roots, which are now no where to be found). I must say I was surprised when I found world music in my Cynic and to be honest, it sounded good to! :thumb:

#5. Fallujah - "The harvest wombs" (Genre: Death metal, Progressive metal)
--> Easily the heaviest album in my entire top 30, but man this band is the pinnacle of modern death metal, great drumming, amazing guitar layering and fantastic vocals (if you're into the death metal genre at least).

#6. Uneven Structure - "Februus" (Genre: Progressive metal, Djent)
--> Undeniably the Djent album of 2011, so far the leaders in the genre have been Periphery and TesseracT, but this band takes TesseracT's sound and improves it by MILES. Where TesseracT likes to be in control these goes go wild and this results in a way more dynamic and fun album. (Btw, Periphery has a earned a heavier, more experimental clone in Ever Forthright, which is located later in the list)

#7. Trophy Scars - "Never born, never dead" (Genre: Jazz-fusion, Psychedelia, Post-hardcore)
--> Part two in the story, where last years (superior) EP "Darkness, oh hell" explored trough the depths of the vocalists life this one explores the most positive moments. A beautiful broken voice combined with jazz like rock and even classical interludes make this one hell of an EP.

#8. Defeater - "Empty days and sleepless night" (Genre: Melodic Hardcore)
--> This year was golden for the hardcore genre but I'm giving this band the top spot as the vocalist has a real emotional voice, hearing the song "dear father" can easily bring a tear in my eyes (if I start to think about the lyrics). Whilest not as good as there earlier work Defeater still remains the master of the genre.

#9. Corelia - "Nostalgia" (Genre: progressive metal, metalcore, djent)
--> SikTh clone mixed with BTBAM like screams and even djent. Can't go wrong with that combination!

#10. Hope For The Dying - "Dissimulation" (Genre: Progressive metal)
--> Progressive metal at it's finest, the guitars remind me of Fallujah (only without the Death metal sound), and the synthesizer is well used in this band (for a change a band that does that).

For the 20 other I'm just going to name them, no extra information. But opposed to my top 10, it isn't 90% metal.

Spoiler: 11-30

• Sylosis - "Edge Of The Earth" (Thrash metal)
• Counterparts - "The Current Will Carry Us" (Melodic Hardcore)
• Ever Forthright - "Ever Forthright" (Progressive, Djent, Jazz, Jazz-Fusion)
• Departures - "When Losing Everything Is Everything You Wanted" (Melodic hardcore)
• City and Colour - "Little Hell" (Indie, Alternative)
• Heart In Hand - "Only Memories" (Melodic hardcore, metalcore)
• La Dispute - "Wildlife" (Melodic hardcore, indie)
• Balance And Composure - "Separation" (Indie, Alternative)
• Fleet Foxes - "Helplessness Blues" (Folk, Indie, Alternative)
• Bon Iver - "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" (Folk, Indie, Alternative)
• Oh, Sleeper - "Children of Fire" (Metalcore)
• Between the Buried and Me - "The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues" (Progressive metal, death metal)
• My Epic - "Broken Voice" (Indie, Progressive, acoustic)
• Textures - "Dualism" (Progressive metal, Djent)
• Scale The Summit - "The Collective" (Instrumental, Progressive metal)
• Erra - "Impulse" (Metalcore)
• Iselia - "Life From Dead Limbs" (Post-rock, Post-hardcore)
• Ana Kefr - "The Burial Tree (II)" (Black metal, Death metal, Progressive metal)
• Hands - "Give Me Rest" (Post-rock, Melodic Hardcore)
• Touche Amore - "Parting The Sea Between Brightness And Me" (Melodic hardcore, emo)
  
  Honorable mentions= Pianos become the teeth, Substructure, Aristeia, Breakdown of Sanity, Thomas Giles
  Guilty pleasures of the year= The Paramedic, Madison Affair

So what were your favourite albums of 2011?

 

[Jason]

Trivium - In Waves

This is by far my favourite album of 2011, I mean, it may not be their best album, but I don't really compare them since each album seems to have a different sound to it, and let's be honest, it's got some insanely catchy songs...

 

[Aepriz]

Only 1 ambum impressed you this year? Wow, I found this to be an awesome year. :thumb:

Still haven't heard Trivium, guess I should do it then, haha.

 

[GameBoy]

Shit, I didn't even hear about these all bands in first post.


1. Three words:
TOM
FUCKING
WAITS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=modTlaO66c0

2. Trent Reznor (of Nine Inch Nails) & Atticus Ross - The Girl With Dragon Tatoo OST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TLYc7mEoMo

Almost 3 hours (!) of great music.

3. Nightwish - Imaginaerum
Biggest surprise of this year. I didn't know that Nightwish was recording new album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwtY157LabE

No more from this year.

 

[Jason]

Only 1 ambum impressed you this year? Wow, I found this to be an awesome year. :thumb:

Still haven't heard Trivium, guess I should do it then, haha.

Oh no, quite a few albums have impressed me, but In Waves is by far my favourite of this year, lol :thumb:

 

[Ellie]

 

[Spoo]

Thomas Bergersen - Illusions

I love listening to epic stuff, so Thomas Bergersen (who is a composer for Two Steps From Hell) releasing a solo album was pure joy from me.

The Black Keys - El Camino

IMHO this is rock music in its purest form. I've liked these guys since Everlasting Light, and I wasn't disappointed here.

 

[Ludicus]

Hell - Human Remains (Heavy Metal)
NWOBHM released 30 years too late, 20-something years after the band originally disbanded. An album packed full of awesome riffs. Heavy metal the way it should be done. There are no bad songs or fillers. The interludes may drag this down a bit, they're cheesier than even King Diamond's intros.

Vader - Welcome To The Morbid Reich (Death Metal)
Their best album since 2000's Litany. Even though they went through a line-up change, they sound impeccable. Fucking relentless. The Morbid Reich washes up the disappointment of the other "Morbid" release this year. (cough)

Taake - Noregs Vaapen (Black Metal)
Trv kvlt christraping arysk black metal from the impaled northern moonforests of Norway featuring a grymfrostbitten goatworshipping banjo solo. It's the best BM album of the year. Marduk, Taake & Leviathan, eat your hearts out.

My Dying Bride - The Barghest O' Whitby EP (Death/Doom Metal)
Their darkest and bleakest since... quite some time. It's worth going through the sometimes boring middle part just for the last few minutes of crushing death/doom.

Spoiler

Wormrot - Dirge (Grindcore)
This is more like early Napalm Death than Terrorizer. Indeed, there's a song called "You suffer but why is it my problem". Aggressive, brutal, short but incredibly fast: what grindcore should be.

Autopsy - Macabre Eternal (Death Metal)
There's a song that clocks at over 11 minutes. And they pulled it off greatly. It's the best song on the album, it doesn't feel like it's dragging on, unlike some of the other songs on this album. It should have been shorter, but still, it's fuckin' Autopsy.

Krisiun - The Great Execution (Brutal Death Metal)
Less intense and primitive than the previous Krisiun releases, but still a solid release. While the usual blastfests are still here, half of the album is slower, mid-paced. It's still an excellent album, though, like Macabre Eternal, it should have been shorter.

Uriah Heep - Into The Wild (Hard Rock)
Oh yes, the granddaddies are still rockin'. A very retro-ish album with a lot of groove.

Notable mentions:
Marduk - Iron Dawn EP
Immolation - Providence EP
Leviathan - True Traitor, True Whore
U.D.O. - Rev Raptor
Disma - Towards The Megalith
Tsjuder - Legion Helvete
Hate Eternal - Phoenix Amongst The Ashes
Blut Aus Nord - 777 - The Desanctification
Panzerchrist - Regiment Ragnarok
Belphegor - Blood Magick Necromance
Lantlos - Agape
Anaal Nathrakh - Passion
Mastodon - The Hunter

Disappointments:
Morbid Angel - Illud Divinum Insanus
Pestilence - Doctrine
Megadeth - Th1rt3en
Anthrax - Worship Music
Fleshgod Apocalypse - Agony
Gorgoroth - Under The Sign Of Hell 2011

 

[Daxis]

It's not the say there are the best songs in there, but the album has been highly anticipated for a while. There's some great stuff going on by a really great band with an awesome voice, though.

There's been lots of other great stuff,, but I'm more of a singular song guy, not the type to track albums for un-overhyped bands.

 

[Mega Flare]

2011 was a shit year for music, though the best two albums clearly are

IMO nothing came close to these two cds... though there was supose to be a new pumpkins cd but that aint till spring this year

 

[2D3000]

1. Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning

2. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo OST

3. Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver (best album cover, for sure)

4. Blackfield - Welcome to My DNA

5. Bass Communion - Cenotaph

6. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972

7. Explosions in the Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

8. Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn of Events

9. Radiohead - The King of Limbs

10. Mogwai - Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will

 

[coreball]

2011 was a shit year for music, though the best two albums clearly are

IMO nothing came close to these two cds... though there was supose to be a new pumpkins cd but that aint till spring this year

Social D had a new album??? I'll have to take a listen.