For most of the year I've
been thinking about my Best Of-list only to be rushing to complete it as the
deadline approaches...as usual. I love Best Of-list just as much as I dislike
them. Why? Because I always forget to include albums that should be there but
the older I get, the quicker I lose track only to realize after the fact what
should have been included. Oh well, here goes my favourites of the year at the
time of remembering. There is a first
for me regarding lists like this. The top spot is shared....has never happened
in my anorak world before!
1. Pale Divine - 'Cemetery
Earth'(Reissue)
- Those who know me and my musical tastes
know Pale Divine is one of my all time favourite bands. So when Shadow Kingdom
Records re-released their amazing 'Cemetery Earth' as a double CD, yours
truly just about had a coronary. Long out of print, the album is available to a
wider audience again and rightly so. For a completist like me the second CD is
full of demo outtakes as well as some live songs. Best of the year along with a
Canadian duo.
1. Zaum - 'Oracles'
- Completely unknown to me, this Canadian duo
absolutely blew me away with their debut album. Full of Egyptian mysticism,
Kyle and Chris created an album of unseen proportions. Amazing stuff!
2. Volume IV - 'Long
In The Tooth'
- Heavy as hell, gong full tilt with a
Southern darkness mixed with Motörhead's never-say-die-fuck off attitude,
Volume IV's debut takes no prisoners.
3. Wo Fat - The
Conjuring
- 'The
Conjuring' is the album that properly introduced me to Wo Fat. It's true
and don't ask me why it took this long because we don't have time for that. I'm
in on them big time now, that's what matters and this is the album that did it.
4. Grifter - 'The
Return of The Bearded Brethren
- The second album can usually be a tricky
thing but not so for Grifter. Instead they've gone from strength to strength
with this one. And this is how I want my heavy rock!
5. Kamchatka - 'The
Search Goes On'
- Swedish trio Kamchatka hits the target as
always with their new wax. Never a band to disappoint, that hasn't changed with
'The Search Goes On', instead they have raised the bar considerably.
6. Human Services - 'Animal
Fires'
- Just as their self-titled debut did, 'Animal
Fires' grabbed me by the balls immediately. One of the most original and
great outfits out there at the moment.
7. Ocean Chief - 'Universums
Härd'
- Ocean Chief's new offering saw a slight
change. Not only did the line-up expand again, they also changed the pace of
the music. Shorter and somewhat faster songs although they have retained their
sound. Great as ever!
8. Child - 'Child'
- A brand new acquaintance to me, this
Australian trio's take on power blues focusing on the real sleazy parts of
life, is bar to none. Trippy, jammy and full of groove in all it's despair.
9. Lord - 'Alive In
Golgotha'
- This EP saw Lord go through a lot of
problems to put it mildly but they came out stronger than ever. The four tracks
on offer are brutal and face melting displaying how to channel frustrating
situations into amazing music.
10. Dandy Brown - 'Damned
To The Heels Of Success'
- The founder of Hermano and renowned producer
Dandy Brown is back with a solo offering and holy hell, it's good! Had I
received this copy earlier it might have landed further up on my list. However,
within very little time his fusion of Chris Goss/Masters Of Reality meets a
plugged-in Neil Young tripping out in the Californina desert, has had a huge
impact on me. Great, great stuff.
The nearly ones:
The Crown - 'Headhunter'(7"single)
Olmeg - 'Slab'
Mantra Machine - 'Nitrogen'
Beastwars - 'Blood
Becomes Free'(Originally released in 2013, worldwide release was in 2014)
Mothership - 'II'
Stubb - 'Cry Of The
Ocean'
Orange Goblin - Back
From The Abyss'
The Skull - 'For Those
Which Are Asleep'
Blackfinger - 'Blackfinger'
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