Mick's Töp 15 Albums of 2019

If the lack of our posts wasn't any indication, it's been one hell of a busy year. My shortcomings have mainly been due to never-ending travel, most of which was for weddings. I did manage to pump out a super fun interview about video game music, but that sapped most of the little energy I had to give. Belly-aching aside, just because we didn't put a ton of content this year didn't mean there wasn't a ton of great music to consume. It was a good sign to me that it was difficult to narrow down a list of the albums I enjoyed the most. Per usual, when it comes to promises for the new year ahead, we will do our damndest to write up what we can. But know that just because we're not writing doesn't mean we're not listening. You at least know you can be 100% guaranteed you'll get Best of 2020 lists.

So without further ado, my Top 15 Albums of 2019:

Durf's Töp 15 Albums of 2019

Another year screams toward its conclusion, forcing me to once again realize my New Year's Resolution of "write more for that blog you love doing!" has again fallen by the wayside.  My lack of activity here at the Töp is certainly disappointing to me, but given all the satisfaction and happiness 2019 has given me by way of fatherhood, marriage, finding a great job, and fully embracing the Durfette and I's new home in Idaho, it's hard for me to be too angry about it.

That said, it was an absolutely stacked, fantastic year for music (again).  Obviously, given the title of this post, I'm only getting in to fifteen albums, which is a nearly insignificant amount given the sheer volume of great shit that came out this year.  I'm not doing an EP or Splits list (again), which means I just have this tiny space to tell you about Elder's absolutely stunning The Gold and Silver Sessions, or the wonderful doom that both Un and Coltsblood brought to their split very early in the year.  I'm similarly not doing a Non-Metal list, which means you don't have to read what I'm sure would be a lot of words on Lana Del Ray's sublime Norman Fucking Rockwell!, which is probably my favorite album of the year, metal or otherwise.  Maybe next year.  What I do have are fifteen metal albums that have stuck with me through the year, albums that have managed to stand out above the noise and din of (again) another packed year.  Without further pretense:

New GIF - "Alcest - GIFdama"

Be sure to check out our other GIFs on our GIFs page!

- Mick

Alcest - Kodama

After the release of Alcest's Ecailles de Lune in 2010 (crown jewel of their discography according to many), Alcest cemented themselves as a band whose new material I would wait for with bated breath. Acting as progenitors for the musical hybrid of shoegaze and black metal, they put forth sounds that were so pristine in their serenity, it could be considered a spiritual endeavor to consume their material. But, as with many bands that pioneer a certain sound, sometimes they try to venture too far outside of what made them appealing in the first place (just ask any Opeth fan). For Alcest, this step outside the norm was with their last album from three years ago, Shelter. On this effort, they dropped any and all elements that would be considered "heavy" and fully embraced the ethereal aspects to their sound that made Shelter come across as a dream-pop album; one that was decent at its best points and tedious for all the rest of its duration. However, moving forward with their latest release, Kodama, Alcest showcases a welcome return to form, albeit a seemingly short one.

Alcest - Shelter

While it’s an unsurprising move to make, French “blackgaze” act Alcest takes out the “black” and focuses more on the “gaze” on their fourth full length release, Shelter, it still leaves a little something to be desired. Let me clarify what I mean when I say “taking out the black.” There is a complete, total, all-encompassing lack of metal influences on Shelter, which perhaps is where the concept of “shelter” comes in, but we’ll cover that in a bit. Alcest dishes out nothing but soft easy listening this time around, and while slightly disappointing it’s not necessarily detrimental to the album’s footprint.

Albums of the Year, Then and Now (2008-2012)

Welcome to Part II of my retrospective look at my top albums from past years, where I see if they still hold that lofty position or have fallen prey to the ravages of time.  If you missed Part I, where I looked at albums from 2003-2007, check it out here.  If you’re ready to continue and see the albums from 2008-2012, then onward to the Time Machine!

Music Video Mania: December 4, 2013

We got two brand new videos for your viewing pleasures after the break.

New Album Announcements: Alcest and Cynic

Looks like 2014 has some pretty happy news for us. Check out more about these album releases after the break.

Ulcerate - Vermis

Even as a metal fan, I typically prefer to be ear-wooed than ear-fucked.  Let me explain.  I’d rather be caressed gently by the shoegaze melodies of Alcest than get into a fist fight with Slayer.  I’d rather take a pensive walk through a Pacific forest with Agalloch than be tormented by Anaal Nathrakh.  I’d rather make goofy jokes about the devil with Ghost than worry about Watain actually sacrificing me to said-Devil.  That said, sometimes there are exceptions.  Sometimes I just want to plug in my headphones, drop the needle on a record, and get ear-fucked, HARD, non-stop for forty-five minutes, until I’m ear-screaming in ecstasy and ear-begging for more.  Not just any heavy album is up for such a marathon of ear-fucking, but Ulcerate’s new tech death masterpiece Vermis not only lives up to the challenge, but it made me ear-cum.  Six times.

Ghosts at Sea - Hymns of Our Demise

Ambient or atmopsheric black metal has sort of become a trendy genre in the metal scene lately.  We’ve discussed the implications of the “hipster” label, both in general and as it specifically relates to black metal, on this site before, but unfortunately it seems like you can’t get away from it as far as atmospheric black metal is concerned, and for an understandable (if ridiculous) reason.  While it can be just as bleak and ominous as “trve” black metal, ambient black metal is often less decidedly harsh than its “trve” cousin.  I love the genre, but I can admit that readily and easily; Alcest’s Escailles de Lunes will never in a million years be confused with Marduk’s La Grande Danse Macabre.  But saying that just because it’s different or “less harsh” makes it worse or bad music is as ridiculous as spelling true with a “v” to seem, like, totally metal, man.  There are great bands making amazing atmospheric black metal right now, which brings me to Ghosts at Sea, a band hailing from Indiana and Kentucky in the good ol’ USA, and their debut album Hymns of Our Demise.

Review: Alcest - Les Voyages De l'Åme

Released by Prophecy Productions, 2012.

Les Voyages De l'Âme is not a metal record. It really isn't. But hold on, stop me if you've heard this sort of thing before… Les Voyages De lÂme is a truly groundbreaking record for metal. Alcest, and intrinsically the solitary soul behind its green curtain, Neige (Eng: Snow), has been painstakingly rigging impassioned, congenial explosives at the base of black metal's structure for nearly a decade. But unlike Liturgy, the assault comes unwittingly from within. The reality that Alcest and its creator are slowly tearing down the walls and preconceptions of metal's most infamous and tightly wound subgenre without intent, let alone malcontent, are what make the whole process that much more fascinating. Previous efforts Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde and Écailles de Lune served as the conceptual ordinance; Les Voyages… is nothing if not the arbitrary yet definitive detonator.

Read the rest after the jump.

Music Video Mania: Lamb Of God and Alcest

Per usual, I'm not the first to post news about this but it's without question worth posting up on the internet again (credit for seeing this goes out to the good dudes at Heavy Blog Is Heavy and Decibel).  What we have here is more music video mania from the past week from two bands that continually show that they kick major ass.

First up, we have Lamb Of God and my god does their new track seriously own.  The official music/lyric video was released earlier this week and can be seen below.  This track, entitled Ghost Walking, comes off of their upcoming album Resolution which is slated for a January 24th release date.



Next up, we have some other brand new material from French black/shoegaze/atmospheric/whatever else they're categorized as (seriously guys, metal categorization is getting a tad bit ridiculous) these days metallers, Alcest.  Coming off of their triumphant 2010 release of Ecailles De Lune, it seems that Alcest shows no signs of slowing down just yet.  They also have released a new track, entitled Autre Temps, which comes off of their upcoming release of Les Voyages De L’Âme which is set to be released on January 6th.  Below is the official music video which came out around a week or so ago.  Decibel has a full version of the song (the music video cuts off a little bit of the beginning) which can be found here. 



2011 will be insanely hard to outdo but releases from these two bands in January will surely give 2012 a solid start. 

- Mick

Jack's Top 10 Albums of 2010

Oh, Maiden memories. You are the best.

 The passing of a legend, one Ronnie James Dio, will forever serve as the headline of 2010 in metal. Ronnie was a godfather, a unifying point for metalheads, something that happens to be a paradox these days in the underworld of heaviness. Which is why it’s completely fucking ironic that during a year when the death of icon brought us all together, probably the most divisive sub-genre in all of heavy music experienced a banner year.