This Is Why I Need To Be A Member Of The Staff
This is my top 15 list for the year. It's pretty fucking amazing. |
| 1 |  | Agalloch
Ashes Against The Grain
The culmination of all things black, doomy and posty: Ashes Against The Grain demonstrates all of the ideals and intelligence of post metal. Truly epic and brilliant. |
| 2 |  | Brand New
The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me
I'm not normally one for screamo... but this isn't normal screamo. Incredibly deep and emotional, Brand New don't seem to give a fuck whether you like them or not. That aspect alone makes this incredibly appealing. |
| 3 |  | Joanna Newsom
Ys
Putting this anywhere lower than 5 on a "best of 2006" list is simply blasphemy. More complex and intelligent than I could hope to understand, but the tip of the iceberg I have managed to wrap my frozen hands around has me digging frantically for the core. |
| 4 |  | Amon Amarth
With Oden On Our Side
Amon Amarth really give my longtime melodeath favorite Arch Enemy a run for their money. Epic and engaging, With Oden On Our side is the most "fun" release of the year; its riffs and ideas are never tired or tedious, even if the genre seems to be decaying. |
| 5 |  | Katatonia
The Great Cold Distance
What at first seemed like a disastrous transition for Katatonia, that of a doom metal band to a gothic rock band has yeilded this lone gem. The Great Cold Distance will leave you feeling frigid and hopeless. |
| 6 |  | Converge
No Heroes
Excellent spastic hardcore. Perhaps No Heroes doesn't engage the listener as much as Jane Doe and When Forever Comes Crashing, but on its own, No Heroes stands up admirably to the sea of uninspired grindcore out there. |
| 7 |  | Envy
Insomniac Doze
What should be a horrid fusion of post hardcore and post rock yeilds this gem. Insomniac Doze combines the intelligence of post-rock and the rock out tendencies of post hardcore into a cohesive package. |
| 8 |  | Vader
Impressions In Blood
Everybody's favorite brutal death band comes back for another go around. Perhaps not very groundbreaking or fresh, but it is still incredibly enjoyable to headbang to. |
| 9 |  | Dismember
The God That Never Was
All these years without a bad album. Fine effort, Dismember. Great old-school death metal. |
| 10 |  | Mastodon
Blood Mountain
I held it off the list as long as I could, but this quality album manages to hold its own in a year of subpar albums, although it is a generic choice. Not as good as Leviathan, but still engaging and entertaining |
| 11 |  | Isis
In The Absence of Truth
Here's where the strength of the albums involved begins to weaken. Sort of like a Panopticon-lite, In The Absence Of Truth is an intelligent post rock album. The only flaw is the production, which covers an involved and epic album in a bland fuzz that makes you want to fall asleep. |
| 12 |  | TV On The Radio
Return To Cookie Mountain
Relatively enjoyable indie/doo-wop/kitchen sink number |
| 13 |  | Enslaved
Ruun
Pretty ripping black metal |
| 14 |  | Drudkh
Blood In Our Wells |
| 15 |  | Tool
10,000 Days |
|
