Jay’s Top 10 Album List of 2008
What a year this was, right? Oil goes way up then goes way down, America elects a half-white guy for the presidency, and OJ is finally receives a prison sentence. This was a good year for me in terms of the harder offerings. In 2007 I kinda had to do the ice-cream-genre-barrel-scrape-around because a lot of metallish releases didn’t hit the sweet spot. While that sounds like a personal problem, keep in mind that this is music we’re talking about; it can’t be anything but personal. I used to make fun of my middle-school friend’s little brother because he listened to New Kids On the Block like he ate Kraft and Kool-Aid, but he was the happiest kid on the block.
So which one on the list is my NKOTB? Should The Block
Honorable Mention:
The Faceless – Planetary Duality
If you like Necrophagist but you’re into instruments played by humans and not soulless computers, then pick this one up. Try listening to the eponymous Hideous Revelation song at night with the lights off and write down your nightmares the next morning.
10. Meshuggah – obZen
They toned down the mid-tempo robot stomp experimentation of the last few releases and went back to what made Chaosphere and Destroy Erase Improve awesome albums. Now there’s poser blood on the dance floor. And the album art.
9. Benea Reach – Alleviat
This sadly overlooked superband is getting some recognition with this release, it seems. Vocalist Ilkka Volume is one of the only dude not in a nu-metal band I want to hear scream and hit an actual note simultaneously.
8. Don Caballero – Punkgasm
I got to see them here in their hometown of Pizzaburger a few months ago, and the tracks they played off of this release were stellar. Drumleader Che was more than a little drunk but didn’t miss a beat on his drums or jokes.
7. Taken – This Is Forever
The redheaded stepbrother of early Hopesfall finally released their b-sides and whatnot. Even with the demo-level production, they can still school most melodic hardcore bands.
6. Shai Hulud – Misanthropy Pure
There was a long wait on this and it seems some people weren’t ready to board when the ship arrived – not me, though. I think it’s because they dropped a lot of the melody. The key elements are still there, though: the not-liking-people thing, intelligent lyrics, the not-liking-more-people thing, and guitarist Matt Fox now has long hair. Metal Blade done right.
5. The Famine – The Raven and the Reaping
McCaddon, et al, disappoint scene jockeys everywhere by refusing to play a breakdown on the entire album and instead appease the Pantera gods with some groove, groove, and more groove.
4. Amen. The Animal – My Iron Heart
The second coming of Beloved? That’s my prediction, but I’m sure someone will say “OMG THEY’RE JUSS GENERIC NU-EMO LOL”. That’s okay. Generic or not, they write some awesome songs. Isn’t that what should matter?
3. Textures – Silhouettes
Textures is one of those bands, if you don’t like them, that you will swear sound 100% like Meshuggah. But, because they only sound like Meshuggah in that they are metal and like to stab time signatures directly in the eyeballs, I can call you Stuck On Stupid. They just need to tour the U.S. to prove to me they actually exist.
2. Rosematter – Rosematter
Elitist…in me….can’t get….songs…out of….iPod…..and….head….
1. Cynic – Traced In Air
Since their first album, through the breakup, and to this, their second album, there hasn’t been a band that comes close to perfecting Cynic’s jazz-metal nuances. Traced In Air picks up where Focus left off, completely ignoring the decade and a half of trends that occurred in between. While it seems like that should make it sound dated, it bears enough potential energy to be timeless.
30 Responses to “Jay’s Top 10 Album List of 2008”
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On 12/15/08 12:13 PM, Jay DiNitto said:
first post. faggot list. dwep.
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On 12/15/08 12:16 PM, tyler h said:
my iron lung is a great song…if they can put ten songs like that on an album i’m down.
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On 12/15/08 12:47 PM, David said:
Thank you for appreciating Benea Reach. It’s about time someone else does.
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On 12/15/08 1:08 PM, AKA Lynnie said:
Nothing but love for Benea Reach!
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On 12/15/08 1:09 PM, David said:
@ Tyler: My Iron Lung or My Iron Heart?
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On 12/15/08 2:49 PM, Dylan said:
I agree, it’s nice to see Benea Reach getting appreciation, but I don’t see the Beloved comparison for Amen. The Animal
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On 12/15/08 3:37 PM, Cool dude said:
Cynic is pretty good
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On 12/15/08 5:42 PM, rojas said:
First off Jay, great picks. Definitely will have to check out a few of these. Shai Hulud..very nice.
Here are a few of my picks with some tidbits of my own. Enjoy.
The Mars Volta—The Bedlam in Goliath
TMV seem to have found a way to create a sonic guide for a séance, complete with unexpected twists and turns that are more suited for a Spanish novela. A much more tortured record then their previous releases, singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s recognizable wails are magnified even more with off-frequency echoes as he spews each chorus while guitarist/composer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s unstructured yet quite fitting guitars come to compliment with ease.
The Briggs—Come All You Madmen (SideOneDummy)
A working man’s punk band is what I can say about The Briggs. Very melodic and folky at times, you can definitely hear the Rancid and Clash influences but not as plagiaristic but more as an homage to their punk heroes and working class roots.
The Funeral Pyre—Wounds
Channeling melodic death metal and Norwegian black metal into their songs, TFP have constructed a 43-minute dark catharsis of pure anguish and fury. You can feel the music take you on a journey that is definitely not for the weak at heart. While I wasn’t too excited that they refrained from the keyboard arrangements from their past release, TFP still had enough firepower in their arsenal to construct a unyielding extreme metal record.
For The Mathematics–We Impend
Kudos to our neighbors to the north, Canada. This 6-song EP caught me by surprise. Very ambitious and well thought out, this record would fit nicely with anything The Mars Volta has done. FTM do plenty with their own concoction of proto-punk meets atmospheric hardcore. It brings to mind the largely influential (and greatly missed) Refused.
The Famine–The Raven and The Reaping
Brutal and fierce, this debut is full of technical precision and breakdowns galore. While they certainly have the metal pedigree (3 of the guys did their time in Embodyment years ago), casual metal fans may have a hard time grasping the rabid nature of the record. No melodic choruses, no pretty intros. This record is more suited for war than anything. Hearing Andy Goodwin shredding again make this metalhead a very happy camper.
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On 12/15/08 5:55 PM, David said:
The Famine is nothing short of awesome. I just wish more people would recognize it.
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On 12/15/08 6:52 PM, Jason said:
Who would’ve thought Cynic… #1
Heh. -
On 12/15/08 7:33 PM, magnumforce2006 said:
Jay, I have an album for you to check out
Vuvr – “Pilgrimage”
Vuvr were an obscure band from the Czech Republic that mixed more traditional death metal with jazz to a degree that could really only be claimed by Cynic and perhaps Atheist. Honestly, I’d say they take jazz even further, as their are entire songs that are more or less clean jazz compositions, sometimes with the aid of saxophone. I’m still not sure how much I love the album, but as a Cynic fan, I think you’d enjoy it quite a bit.
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On 12/15/08 8:25 PM, Josh Mock said:
I’ve been meaning to check out Benea Reach for a while, so I did today. I am now punching myself in the groin for not having done so earlier.
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On 12/15/08 8:32 PM, Jay DiNitto said:
rojas gets the gold star of dedication for his post.
mag- never heard of, but I will check them out.
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On 12/15/08 11:20 PM, rojas said:
gold star for me? sweet.
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On 12/15/08 11:37 PM, magnumforce2006 said:
I gotta tell you guys, I was pretty freakin disappointed with the Famine
The style of Embrace the Eternal was there, but I just felt like the songwriting was sort of flat. Maybe I was just trying to conjure up the feeling I got from listening to EtE years ago, but I couldn’t get into it.
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On 12/16/08 2:47 AM, matt said:
wow. Amen The Animal has the most fake drum sound I’ve heard in a long time. Acceptance with breakdowns… uhhh…
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On 12/16/08 8:50 AM, michael said:
I’m glad you guys like the Famine’s record…Alternative Press definitely didn’t (you should check out their review on the AP website). I’ll have to pick up Taken…
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On 12/16/08 9:08 AM, Howard said:
Hey Jay, I got a pick for you: How about your face and my ass!!
WOOHOO SHAAAAZAAAM!!! This is BUZZGRINDER BITCHES!!!Just hold onto my Gold Star for now – I’ll pick it up later.
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On 12/16/08 9:51 AM, Jay DiNitto said:
*sprays breath freshener into mouf*
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On 12/16/08 11:18 AM, Tim Towner said:
My friend worked with The Faceless in 2007 and would hype them up to me. I’m bummed I missed out on that band. It appreciated the musicianship of that young band but I just didn’t “get it”.
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On 12/16/08 11:19 AM, Tim Towner said:
And Rosematter are stand up dudes (and gal)!
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On 12/16/08 11:40 AM, Matt said:
Jay, we may be in a minority for the Punkgasm love.
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On 12/16/08 12:50 PM, Cool dude said:
Jay, are you sure you don’t want to add The Jonas Brothers to your list????
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On 12/16/08 1:29 PM, Jay DiNitto said:
I’ve never heard them before, so how could I add them????!!!!11!!111!!???
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On 12/16/08 4:45 PM, tyler h said:
David…Heart, dangit, Heart
sometimes i get my vital organs mixed up
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On 12/16/08 5:56 PM, Cool dude said:
NEVER HEARD THE JONAS BROTHERS!?!? *
God does indeed bless you -
On 12/16/08 11:16 PM, joe said:
i got excited when you said the second coming of Beloved. then i checked them out.
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On 12/17/08 7:33 AM, Paul A Harper said:
Jay… dwep?
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On 12/17/08 8:15 AM, jeff.s said:
Im stoked to see the Famine get the appreciation they richly deserve here. Awesome drums, shredding and great vocals. Kick ass live show too. Most underrated band out there right now
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On 12/27/08 7:21 PM, Jay DiNitto said:
I just realized I didn’t include the Children 18:3 release on here. CRAAAAP
