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 Andrew's 10 favorite albums of 2004: One of the perks of running a web-zine is that you have a legitimate excuse to devise a year-end list. For 2004 I decided to challenge myself and decrease the list size from 20 to 10 records. While I had to choose fewer albums, I ended up putting far more thought and deliberation into deciding which ones to include on the list than ever before. If you'd like to give me any feedback on my choices, send me an e-mail or visit the message board. I'd like to hear it. Anyway, the final list is below. Enjoy.
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Number 10 (It's a tie!): |
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Into Eternity - Buried In Oblivion (Century Media Records)
Despite its stereotypical and generic cover art, Buried In Oblivion is one of the most accessible and distinguished forays into progressive metal I've heard. While there are loads of whirling guitar picking sequences and high-pitched, melodic vocals, Into Eternity balances their infectious, progressive tendencies with burly, chugging breakdowns and high-octane, melodic death metal. Buried In Oblivion is simultaneously one of the catchiest and heaviest metal records one will hear. |
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Champion - Promises Kept (Review / Bridge 9 Records)
Promises Kept is an instantly gratifying, youth crew-tinged hardcore record, but it has immensely grown on me in the past couple of weeks. While there are a lot of bands playing this style, Champion's spirited delivery and outward passion for the music and the straightedge lifestyle pits them far above their genre-mates. Champion doesn't necessarily advance hardcore, but they sure as hell prove that it doesn't need to change to be effective. For those who feel that music doesn't have meaning or that its meaning is trivial, devote some time to Promises Kept. |
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Number 9: |
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The Warriors - War Is Hell (Review / Eulogy Recordings)
War Is Hell is a fun record. Everything about it is in-your-face and aggressive, but The Warriors revert to a mid-paced, groove-laden style of metallic hardcore that, in 2004, again sounds fresh. While there are bits and pieces of blazing, melodic hardcore herein, The Warriors are far heavier than the now-typical youth crew revival bands. War Is Hell bubbles with enthusiasm and that fervor puts The Warriors over the top. |
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Number 8: |
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Codeseven - Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds (Review / Featured release - November / Equal Vision Records)
Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds is a continuation of Codeseven's very marked album-to-album progression. The album, unlike the band's prior work, is heavy on electronic elements and light on guitar riffs. Instead of building up to chunky, riff-heavy climaxes, Codeseven more frequently wraps listeners up with innumerable layers of warm, melodic singing, atmospheric effects and subtle guitar parts. Aside from the general catchiness, Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds has personality. The lyrics and singing are heartfelt, the music conveys a variety of moods and, if you close your eyes and listen, the dreamy atmospheres create all sorts of images. |
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Number 7: |
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Pig Destroyer - Terrifyer (Review / Featured release - December / Relapse Records)
Pig Destroyer isn't for the faint of heart -- take a look at their various album covers and listen to their furious music -- but Terrifyer takes the band's grind/metal foundation and makes it accessible. With thrashy riffs and tempos, a couple guitar solos and gritty, punk rock tendencies all balancing out an otherwise relentless, rapid-fire assault, Terrifyer is an enduring, varied record. Pig Destroyer is downright creepy, but they somehow make even the most blistering metal songs memorable. Not just any band can do that. |
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Number 6: |
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Circle Takes The Square - As the Roots Undo (Review / Featured release - March / Robotic Empire Records)
As The Roots Undo was a heavily anticipated and heavily delayed album, but it finally impacted listeners early in 2004. The record can be effectively summed up as an emotionally-exhausting, frenetic and, most importantly, inspired work. With songs ranging from two to nine minutes in length and constantly morphing in style, Circle Takes The Square abides by no boundaries while performing their art. As The Roots Undo has all the personality and feeling I desire, and then some. So much that it can be too overwhelming. |
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Number 5: |
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These Arms Are Snakes - Oxeneers or The Lion Sleeps When Its Antelope Go Home (Review / Featured release - October / Jade Tree Records)
These Arms Are Snakes drew up a truly unique combination of jagged, experimental rock and alluring melodies on Oxeneers.... While the album is loaded with crunchy riffs, a liberal inclusion of electronics and lots of yelling, most of the songs are instantly memorable without sugary vocal hooks or three-chord riffs. These Arms Are Snakes is an ambitious and expressive group, but one that knows how to hook listeners. Oxeneers... is clean, experimental and textured, leaving a lasting impression and standing alone. |
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Number 4: |
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Converge - You Fail Me (Epitaph Records)
Perhaps less extreme and blatantly adventurous than 2001's Jane Doe, You Fail Me is still ripe with Converge's bloodied, broken and bruised sounds of disparity. Whether Converge's music is dramatically lumbering forward or rapidly abusing listeners, one thing remains consistent: there's a ton of feeling. You Fail Me is a progression and is easier to latch on to than previous works but, in the end, it's a fucking Converge record. |
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Number 3: |
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Dillinger Escape Plan - Miss Machine (Relapse Records)
What can I say about Miss Machine that hasn't already been said hundreds of times? Dillinger Escape Plan, now with vocalist Greg Puciato, crafted anything but another Calculating Infinity. While there's an undeniable Mike Patton influence in the erratic vocals and one song has an industrial tone similar to that of Nine Inch Nails, Miss Machine is a fierce album that somehow makes technical metal accessible. Amidst complex, busy percussion, raucous screams and sheer guitar wizardry are catchy choruses and driving rock jaunts. Dillinger Escape Plan has always been ahead of the crowd, so don't be surprised when bands are mimicking Miss Machine in five years. |
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Number 2: |
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Arsis - A Celebration of Guilt (Featured release - June / Willowtip Records)
A Celebration of Guilt is metal. There's no singing and there are no mosh parts. This album, which was composed by a duo, is a bold representation of what melodic death metal sounds like without the overused tricks of the last few years. Arsis shows no hesitation in charging at listeners with their best weapons -- explosive, high-speed drumming, intricate guitar melodies and unending aggression -- and ravaging anything in their path. Unadulterated melodic death metal rarely sounds as fresh and memorable as it does on A Celebration of Guilt. |
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(Drumroll...)
Album Of The Year: |
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Misery Signals - Of Malice And The Magnum Heart (Review / Ferret Music)
My skin tingles just thinking about Of Malice and the Magnum Heart. Misery Signals delivered one of the most passionate and inspired releases I've laid ears on, and, even after a massive number of listens, it still arouses the feelings of excitement that it did the day it hit stores. Not only is Misery Signals made up of stellar musicians, the band conveys touching emotions in a manner that runs straight to the listener's heart. Of Malice and the Magnum Heart is a critical marker in the evolution of metal/hardcore music. |
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Honorable mentions: |
Isis - Panopticon
A Wilhelm Scream - Mute Print
With Honor - Heart Means Everything
Green Day - American Idiot
The Gamits - Antidote
Unearth - The Oncoming Storm
Silent Drive - Love Is Worth It
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Top EP/MCDs of 2004: |
1. Blood For Blood - Serenity (Review / Featured release - July / Thorp Records)
2. Another Breath - Not Now, Not Ever (Review / Featured release - August / Rivalry Records)
3. Taken - Between Two Unseens (Goodfellow Records)
4. Since By Man - Love/Hate Relationship (Revelation Records)
5. Set Your Goals - self-titled (Straight On Records)
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