Best/Worst of 2014

[Haws Bah Gawd]

My Top 5 of 2014

[list type=decimal]
[*]"Heroes" - Sabaton

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZNeastYxEc

[*]"Space Police - Defenders of the Crown" - Edguy

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No1zAkGE5HE

[*]"The Human Contradiction" - Delain

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKZgAVygp9A

[*]"The Beauty of Destruction" - Devil You Know

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amdg0g1E3bY

[*]"The Great Divide: - Allen-Lande

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_OvrGEbMvo

[/list]

Best Compilation

[list type=decimal]
[*]Guardians of the Galaxy "Awesome Mix Tape Volume 1"
[/list]

Worst of the Worst

[list type=decimal]
[*]"The Hunting Party" - Linkin Park
[/list]

Biggest Disappointment

[list type=decimal]
[*]"(R)Evolution" - Hammerfall
[*]"The Quantum Enigma" - Epica
[/list]

Most Anticipated of 2015

[list type=decimal]
[*]"Dracula" - Jorn Lande and Trond Holter

Spoiler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxjxyEnUP30

[*]"Endless Forms Most Beautiful" - Nightwish (first studio album with new vocalist, Floor Jansen)
[*]Untitled Kamelot Album
[/list]

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

2014 was another year where I really looked at back catalogues and checked out bands I had either never heard of or only had a passing interest in. 2014 is my New Model Army year, where I stopped listening to a song or two and actually dove in.

As far as new stuff goes...

Misery Index - The Killing Gods
Behemoth - The Satanist

I could probably find plenty more releases, but those are the only two I remember getting that were released in 2014. Behemoth dropped a generic effort and Misery Index offer up their weakest album (which is still better than most of the scene can offer).

Worst? Well, most disappointing was the new Pig Destroyer. I'm not a doom fan anyway, but hearing my beloved grind maniacs drop a shitty hipster doom album made me shake my head.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

I listen to a lot of different genres, so my favorites of the year are all over the place.

Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators - World on Fire

Sanctuary - The Year the Sun Died

Sabaton - Heroes

Rancid - Honor Is All We Know

Powerman 5000 - Builders of The Future

Overkill - White Devil Armory

The Fray - Helios

Erasure - The Violent Flame

Delain - The Human Contradiction

Black Stone Cherry - Magic Mountain

Run the Jewels - RTJ2

 

[Alfie]

I'll just do a top 10 I suppose

10. Wild Beasts - Present Tense
09. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2
08. East India Youth - Total Strife Forever
07. Sun Kil Moon - Benji
06. Todd Terje - It's Album Time
05. Aphex Twin - Syro
04. Moodymann - Moodymann
03. Actress - Ghettoville
02. Caribou - Our Love
01. Dean Blunt - Black Metal

 

[Incandenza]

1. D'Angelo - Black Messiah
2. Lewis - L'Amour*

I don't think I've heard 10 records from this year, yet I've probably consumed more "new" music this year than in previous years. Shouts out to the Captain Beefheart box set Sun Zoom Spark and to Neil Young for finally reissuing Time Fades Away.

*Technically originally released in 1983, but whatever!

 

[BUTT]

Pretty sure the only 2014 releases I have listened to in full are the new albums from Taylor Swift and Smashing Pumpkins. Taylor was better, of course.

 

[Lord of The Curry]

Alvvays- Alvvays
D'Angelo- Black Messiah
War On Drugs- Lost in The Dream

 

[Byron The Bulb]

I think 1989, Ultraviolence, and the Perfect Pussy album were the only things I listened to all the way through this year. They were all pretty good, iirc.

 

[Incandenza]

Tay-Tay's pulling her tunes from all the music-streaming services has eliminated any chance I will ever hear 1989 beyond the singles.

 

[Youth N Asia]

I think the only album I bought this year was The Gaslight Anthem's "Get Hurt." Which is pretty good

 

[The Coat Is My Father]

Probably the Swans album, although 1989 has at least three perfect songs.

I didn't like Run The Jewels at all & I was an admirer of their first record.

 

[The Coat Is My Father]

01. Dean Blunt - Black Metal

I don't think I really understood what this album was going for.

 

[Byron The Bulb]

Probably the Swans album, although 1989 has at least three perfect songs.

Which three are you thinking of? If the old "rate songs on albums" thread was still around I'd probably give perfect 10s to "Blank Space," "Style," "Out of the Woods," "I Know Places" and "Clean". Maybe "Wildest Dreams," as well.

 

[The Coat Is My Father]

Those first three you mentioned are the ones I was thinking of, but the whole album is consistently good except the opening song.

 

[Alfie]

01. Dean Blunt - Black Metal

I don't think I really understood what this album was going for.

Seems like a strange thing to say. Are you referring to how it segues from the jangly college rock songs to the long instrumental tracks to the lobotomised hip-hop or whatever you'd call the songs at the end? Are you at all familiar with the Dean Blunt/Hype Williams oeuvre? It seems like a natural progression from The Redeemer, he's becoming more direct and less shrouded in mystery with every release, but hey, even most of his fans probably haven't got around to hearing most of his back catalogue. I know I haven't.

I love Dean Blunt.

 

[Alfie]

I can see how someone would think that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3uluUzia_s

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jom4NmCRrI

aren't supposed to be on the same album, doesn't bother me!