Mick's Top 15 Albums of 2013

2013 has been one heck of a year for all of us...mainly because we relaunched Brutalitopia earlier in the spring and are now back in full force with a renewed sense of purpose. Thanks to everyone who's made that possible by supporting us in their respective ways.

And now time for everyone's favorite time of year...the end of it. Check out what albums I thought were awesome enough to recognize after the break!

Durf's Top 15 Albums of 2013

 

Hard to believe it's already December and time to look back on the past year, reflecting on the changes we've made, the adventures we've had, and most importantly, the albums we've listened to and really, really enjoyed.  Below are my Top 15 Albums of 2013; if you correctly guess which album is Number One before looking, I will mail you a cookie.  And don't forget to agree/disagree/tell me how full of shit I am in the comment section!

Music Video Mania: October 4, 2013

Since I'm still in catch up mode, in terms of music videos, I've got another batch of three videos to present. 

Tesseract - Altered State

While it seemed, for a period of time, that Tesseract's lead singer position was a near weekly revolving door (or dare I say in a continuously altered state?), the band always seemed to roll with the punches and maintained the accessible djentiness that was always at the heart of their sound.  With Ashe O'Hara now at the helm of the vocals department, Tesseract continues to deliver on this promise and has churned out what is certainly their finest full-length work to date, Altered State.

God Help Us: The Saints and Sinners Tour 2011 Lineup Announced

I shouldn't really have to say much here.  Your eyes don't deceive you.  This fall, Between The Buried and Me will be headlining the Saints and Sinners Tour with support from Animals as Leaders and Tesseract.  If you aren't in the least bit ecstatic about this concert, you clearly don't give a f**k (props to Islander at No Clean Singing for posting this up) about great/epic music.  Nothing else needs to be said.  God help us.

Tour dates after the break

We'll Do It Live Fridays: Concealing an Epic Tour

As I've said on almost every other post on here, 2011 has and is going to be an amazing year for metal.  But the fact that so many great albums are going to be released this year is really about half of the reason why this year is going to be so great.  As you might guess, new albums mean new tours.  I've definitely got my sights set on the Opeth/Katatonia and Enslaved/Alcest/Ghost tours that will be coming through in the fall, but one has just been rumored that is utterly unbelievable.  Hold your breath for this one folks, it seems very likely that Between The Buried and Me will be touring this fall along with Animals As Leaders and Tesseract.  Holy shit is right.  I won't completely spoil it but I can tell you from speaking with Tosin Abasi after their headlining show in Joliet last Saturday that they will for sure be touring with one of those two other bands.  Either way, it's just another tour I feel I can't afford to miss.

So with that being said, let's see who will be entering our WDILF studios today.

Protest The Hero Announces New Album Details and Upcoming Tour!

I don't know why I liked this image so much.

Protest the Hero have just announced that they will release their 3rd studio album, entitled Scurrilous, on March 22.  And if that wasn't enough to make your day, they've also announced their North American headlining tour will begin on March 23 with support from Maylene, the Sons of Disaster, and Tesseract.  Dates can be found below after the break.

The Heir(s) to the Meshuggah Throne?

Following the Devin Townsend Project show in Chicago the other evening (which took place following our interview with Devin that you can find below and at our YouTube channel), I came away with two immediate thoughts; 1) no one in this entire universe is on the same wavelength, musically or mentally, as Mr. Townsend, and 2) TesseracT is a band everyone should watch the balls out for.

Srsly. These guys pwn.

 While The DTP undeniably killed it at Lincoln Hall, TesseracT left many people in the crowd visibly impressed. My first experience of their unique mixture of clean, melodious vocals, unconventional song structures and poly-rhythmic chug-a-lugs was overwhelmingly positive. I spoke to other attendees who also voiced a similar sentiment. And... wait a second... that sounds a whole hell of a lot like a description of Periphery (as pointed out by TesseracT's very own Acle Kahney)! MetalSucks (terrorist fist jab to those guys) and many other metal blogs have helped popularize the term "djent" to describe the sound of bands inspired by Meshuggah, the pioneers of all things heavy + extremely challenging in terms of music theory. Conincientally, djent was actually coined by Periphery's own Misha "Bulb" Mansoor. TesseracT and Periphery, along with a handful of other metal acts such as Monuments or even Animals as Leaders, combine the heaviness and creativeness of Meshuggah with new elements of their own. These guys have taken the ball and run with it in terms of djent, and are fortunately garnering a great deal much deserved press.

Meshuggah is by no means close to their end (as far as we know) despite numerous bumps in the road. But I doubt (and essentially know for a fact) that we here at the 'Topia are not alone in thinking that Periphery and TesseracT together are poised to assume the reigns from Meshuggah in terms of groove based metal with arduously crafted rhythms and the catchiest fucking headbanging passages one could ever ask for. Watch out for TesseracT (who are heading to India in December and should be back to tour Europe and the Americas following the drop of their debut full length entitled One in 2011) and Periphery (who are currently out on tour with Darkest Hour and native Chi-townians Veil of Maya). The future of djent depends on them. /Luke Skywalker joke

- Jack Attack