2014 Midterm Review
We're pretty much half-way done with 2014 so here's music I liked from this ryear. 25-21 are my favorite EPs/Demos and 20-1 are LPs. Squad. |
| 25 |  | Camera Shy
Jack-O-Lantern
Acoustic pop rock featuring Nick Bassett from Whirr and Alexandra Morte who sang on
Whirr?s ?Pipe Dreams?. Great catchy acoustic dream pop perfect for summer time feels. |
| 24 |  | Yvette Young
Acoustics
One-woman math rock/indie pop on acoustic guitar. Complete with awesome riffs and
feels. |
| 23 | | Anopheli
A Hunger Rarely Sated
Emo/crust/post-hardcore/doom with cello featuring members of Light Bearer and
Monuments Collapse. Need I say more? |
| 22 |  | Thou
The Sacrifice
Basically Thou are the best sludge metal band in the game and every song they put out
is at the very least excellent. |
| 21 |  | Predatory Light
MMXIV
Some of the best black metal in the world right now. Eerie as hell and the riffs are raw,
heavy, and psychedelic. |
| 20 |  | Zelooperz
Help
Crazy experimental production and some of the most unique vocal delivery I?ve heard in
hip-hop recently. Screaming/yelling flows over dark beats that could still fit in a party.
Most gutta album of 2014. |
| 19 |  | IDYLLS
Prayer For Terrene
Violent grindcore that creates a dense psychedelic walls of sound. |
| 18 |  | Antwon
Heavy Hearted In Doldrums
Sex, drugs, and hot ass beats. Antwon spits that real. |
| 17 |  | La Sera
Hour Of The Dawn
Summer time power pop that is surfy and catchy as all hell. Listen to this and have fun. |
| 16 |  | White Lung
Deep Fantasy
One of the craziest, noisiest, punk records I?ve heard in a while. Great, fun tunes too |
| 15 |  | Lord Mantis
Death Mask
Noisy sludge metal with blasts of black metal. Quality. |
| 14 |  | The Body
I Shall Die Here
This record is a collaborative LP between The Body and The Haxan Cloak. Together, the
release some of the most brutal and tortured sludge metal I?ve heard combining
elements of dark ambient and industrial into the mix of heavy sludge The Body is known
for. It can be a tough listen but it?s a beautifully twisted record. |
| 13 |  | Woods Of Desolation
As The Stars
Post-black metal with soaring melodies that are really cathartic. |
| 12 |  | Cities Aviv
Come To Life
Cities Aviv is the most impressive of all the recent experimental hip-hop artists. The way
he cuts samples of soul and 80?s music into atmospheric electronic beats is unmatched.
Come To Life is an experience like no other. LIFE IS REAL |
| 11 |  | Helms Alee
Sleepwalking Sailors
Fun, rockin? art sludge that?s just as catchy as it is absolutely filthy. |
| 10 |  | Thantifaxath
Sacred White Noise
Thantifaxath?s debut record is some of the most mind-bending and avant black metal
I?ve heard. The band uses twisted chromatic riffs, dense walls of psychedelia, odd riffage
and ambiance to create a sick black metal record. |
| 9 |  | BADBADNOTGOOD
III
The Toronto jazz trio?s known for giving new life to famous hip-hop beats, but their new
record is their first of all original material. The band blends elements hip-hop, electronic
music and jazz to create some of their most composition-focused material yet and it
bumps in the whip. |
| 8 |  | Artificial Brain
Labyrinth Constellation
Artificial Brain are a sci-fi themed technical death metal band that doesn?t suck. In fact,
their mind bending riffs are not unlike that of Gorguts and Ulcerate, and they have the
technical finesse and weirdness of Krallice. |
| 7 |  | Triptykon
Melana Chasmata
Tom G. Warrior is the master of all things evil, dark, occult, and above all else, badass
riffs. Triptykon?s sophomore record combines thick doom metal tones, thrashing black
metal riffs, gothic atmosphere, and blends it into the best doom metal album so far this
year. |
| 6 |  | Nothing
Guilty Of Everything
Nothing?s new record is the best shoegaze record that?ll drop this year. Combining
elements of 90?s shoegaze, emo, and grunge, this album is guilty of being badass. |
| 5 |  | Indian
From All Purity
Indian?s new record enters your home by breaking down the door, walking through the
screen-door, shattering every vase, flipping over every table and chair, and setting the
couches on fire. This record sees the band at it?s most gruesome, heavy and noisy yet,
combing trudging, repetitive sludge metal with noise. |
| 4 |  | Boris
Noise
Boris can do pretty much anything and it?s awesome. This album showcases that, by
acting as a ?best of? record, even if it?s all original material. From the thrashers like
?Quicksilver?, the j-pop flavored ?Taiyo No Baka?, to the Flood-eqsue behemoth ?Angel?,
this album sees Boris proving that they can do anything you can do and do it better. |
| 3 |  | Cormorant
Earth Diver
When founding member, bassist/vocalist/lyricist Arthur von Nagel left Cormorant in
2012, a lot of people expressed concern that Cormorant couldn?t produce another record
on the same level as their first two. But with Earth Diver, the band proves that they?ll still
perfectly capable of producing some of the best progressive black metal around. Earth
Diver showcases the band at its most aggressive, focuses more on black metal and
doom tendencies but still has a lot of the proggy, quirky ?fit in as many ideas as
possible? vibe the older stuff had. |
| 2 |  | Thou
Heathen
Thou?s new record, Heathen, is the most impressive sludge metal album I?ve heard since
Baroness? Red Album. This record showcases the band?s best song-writing yet with
beautiful, atmospheric intros to songs that morph into absolutely monstrous riffs that
crush your skull into a fine powder. |
| 1 |  | Lantlos
Melting Sun
Most people seem to associate Lantlos with Neige, which always brings in comparisons to
Alcest, but in reality Lantlos is the Herbst show. And unlike Neige, when Herbst decided
to abandon black metal sounds on his new record, he still managed to write a
captivating album. Melting Sun carries the beauty of post-rock and the psychedelic
tendencies of shoegazing guitars, yet retains the atmosphere and heaviness of Lantlos?
older work. Join Herbst through the sun on what is the most triumphant album of the
year. |
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