Stuff I Liked: 2014 Edition
Made one last year, making one this year. Gonna be a disliked albums list in a few days as well. |
| 13 |  | Cynic
Kindly Bent To Free Us
On the one hand, this album was a disappointment. It's nowhere near as strong as Focus or even Traced In Air. On the other hand, it's clear that the group wasn't trying to replicate those albums. While the end result is not as memorable, it's still pretty solid on the whole. |
| 12 |  | Pentakill
Smite And Ignite
This was a shock to me, just that it wasn't wretched as many instances of video games branching into other forms of media turn out to be. There's actually some fairly strong songs here. Nothing overly worthy of note, but still worth a listen or two. |
| 11 |  | Burning Nitrum
Molotov
A little-known, somewhat generic, but thoroughly enjoyable re-thrash release. Doesn't feel as stale as its contemporaries. |
| 10 |  | Primal Fear
Delivering The Black
More of the same from Primal Fear, who have had an absurdly consistent career. Fortunately, they're consistently above average, and Delivering The Black is no exception. |
| 9 |  | Iron Reagan
The Tyranny Of Will
This is just a fun album. I've not found myself returning to it all that frequently, but it's definitely a blast when you're in the right mood. Solid crossover. |
| 8 |  | Overkill
White Devil Armory
It's Overkill. What do you expect? It's no Horrorscope, but it's another solid addition to the collection. |
| 7 |  | Lost Ubikyst In Apeiron
Abstruse Imbeciles Nailed On Slavery
This one is pretty divisive it seems, but it's really not to either extreme it has been portrayed as. It's as large as most typical prog albums, it just takes itself a bit beyond what others do. The production is problematic for many, but I don't personally find a great deal of issue with it. |
| 6 |  | Holy Moses
Redefined Mayhem
It's no Finished With The Dogs, but it's still a strong entry into Holy Moses' large discography. |
| 5 |  | Job For A Cowboy
Sun Eater
Mark me as surprised by this album. It's a more purely death metal outing from Job For A Cowboy, and really, it's a startling improvement upon the much-maligned deathcore they're known for. |
| 4 |  | Reek
Necrogenesis
This has Voivod or Willie written all over it to me. Prog-thrash that's a cut above the rest. |
| 3 |  | Ranger
Shock Skull
Okay, I'm kind of cheating by putting an EP here, but in spite of only a two-song length, they're still Ranger. It's just as awesome as Knights of Darkness was, just in a miniature dosage. |
| 2 |  | Kenn Nardi
Dancing With The Past
This thing is a behemoth. There's really something for everybody here, it's really strong. What else would you expect from that guy from Anacrusis? |
| 1 |  | Chronosphere
Embracing Oblivion
Probably my album of the year. It's straight-forward, no nonsense, everything anybody likes about thrash. Not overly original, it's just refined as hell and a blast to listen to. |
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