As we reach the end of the calendar year, it's good to look back and see what has affected you in the past 12 months. For me, as I go back through a year in the life of myself, most of the significant events tie to a certain album, song, or band that I had been listening to. Not always as a direct result, sometimes as coincidence, and others just by pure chance. This list will catalogue 6 albums that were events in themselves to me. Works that left me with no choice but to continue listening on repeat until every last bit had fully sunken in. Bare in mind, not all of these are from 2012, however I did try to keep it to bands that had released something or been active in 2012 in some form, for the sake of the year end list's purpose I suppose.
Krallice - Years Past Matter :
"Years Past Matter" is quite possibly my favorite release of this year. I have yet to be able to turn it on and not finish it completely. I've literally sat in my car outside my garage or work for the last 20 minutes of the record on more than a few occasions when it hadn't finished by the time I was where I was going. This band traps you in the voids of space and pummels you until you don't know how you got there. The only down side is that I can't find a way to stay there beyond the end of the music.
Drudkh - Handful of Stars :
From the second I first heard this band I had to try to find everything they had ever released. Drudkh is raw, bleak, and hypnotic in all the best ways. "Handful of Stars" is on this list because I listened to this album more than any of their other releases so far, and I still queue is up when I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for.
Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind :
I've said it before, listening to Converge is like being set on fire and loving every second of it. The way this band is able to capture such harshness, such blatant disregard for comfort is unmatched. This record album is flawless from beginning to end.
Between The Buried and Me - Parallax 1&2 :
The piece of music that spans these 2 cds is incredible. A deliriously well crafted concept record that swoons with sweet comfort, slams into pummeling momentum, and then careens off a cliff into melodic cacophony over and over. No matter how many times I listen to this record, I still get totally lost within it and have a hard time placing where I am in the album.
Wolvhammer - The Obsidian Plains :
This album has a sore kind of sound to it. The whole thing sounds raw and even a bit messy, in the best possible way. Black metal that is truly rooted in the traditions of the genre without being even a little boring. Obsidian plains helped me beat the living hell out of my first 10K run and a few 5Ks over the year as well. When I want something drenched in hate and seething with murderous intent, I turn to these guys. If you can listen to this without imagining yourself trapped in the woods alone with some sort of corpse to feed on, you're doing it wrong.
Old Crow Medicine Show - Carry Me Back :
OCMS does a pretty damn good job of playing new music that rings true with all of the things that make true bluegrass great. Knee slapping jams and lonesome ballads, this one has it all. Most of all, like all of their previous records, this one is an absolute blast to listen to. I suggest it with coffee and the open highway early in the morning to get your day started in the right direction.
ALSO:
Gilead Media - False, AshBorer, Fell Voices, Northless, Aseethe :
I hate to lump all of these bands together like this, but let me explain. I attended the first Gilead Media Festival this past summer and had the chance to catch these, and a ton more awesome bands over the course of 2 days. Each of these bands presents an incredibly unique side of genres already well traveled. Fell Voices single handedly renewed my interest in black metal. They were directly followed by Ash Borer and False. Northless is heavier than anything has ever been, and Aseethe makes drone interesting in many different ways. So, in summation, no, these bands don't all sound alike. They all sound so different and unique, I offer them to you as a sampling of the awesome you'll find by visiting the Gilead Bandcamp page.
Other stuff that was in constant rotation for me this year:
God Is An Astronaut, Pelican, Neurosis - Honor Found in Decay, Abraham - The Serpent, the Prophet, the Whore, The Mire - split w/ Cronos, Battlefields - Agasiz, The Avett Brothers, Nachtmystium,
Peace and best wishes to everyone in the new year. Do yourself a favor and make a resolution to explore music the way you explore facebook from now on. Who knows what you might find.
-Tim
