Yes, it's unending, pointless end-of-year list time again!

Nov. 13th, 2008 at 11:13 AM

Let's start with the one that my readership, such as it is, will care the least about: in alphabetical order, LEONARD'S PICKS FOR THE 30 BEST HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL-ISH ALBUMS OF 2008!

AC/DC, Black Ice
Arsis, We Are the Nightmare
Bison b.c., Quiet Earth
Blood Ceremony, Blood Ceremony
Bonded By Blood, Feed the Beast
Boris, Smile
Chingalera, Dose
Cynic, Traced in Air
Earth, The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull
Earthless, Live at Roadburn
Esoteric, The Maniacal Vale
Farflung, A Wound in Eternity
Genghis Tron, Board Up the House
Harvey Milk, Life: The Best Game in Town
Ihsahn, angL
In Flames, A Sense of Purpose
Lair of the Minotaur, War Metal Battle Master
Made Out of Babies, The Ruiner
Meshuggah, obZen
Neuraxis, The Thin Line Between
Nine Inch Nails, The Slip
Opeth, Watershed
Sirhan Sirhan, Blood
Slipknot, All Hope is Gone
Soilent Green, Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction
The Sword, Gods of the Earth
Torche, Meanderthal
Total Fucking Destruction, Peace, Love and Total Fucking Destruction
Warbringer, War Without End
Whitechapel, This is Exile

So.

Comments

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brandawg

Nov. 13th, 2008 05:18 pm (UTC)

AC/DC makes the list but Metallica doesn't? I find that odd.

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ludickid

Nov. 13th, 2008 05:20 pm (UTC)

Why do you find it odd? I know a lot of people are going ape for the new Metallica record, but while it's certainly a lot better than their last few albums, it's nothing special to my ears. The new AC/DC, though, is one of the best things they've done in decades.

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burkesworks

Nov. 13th, 2008 05:20 pm (UTC)

That's two people on my flist banging on about that bloody Slipknot album...

Still, with you re Accadacca's latest - best since the Bon Scott era! Who'd have thought the old buggers still had it in 'em?

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ludickid

Nov. 13th, 2008 05:24 pm (UTC)

Slipknot's not for everyone, and I can certainly understand why a lot of people don't dig them. But I think it's pretty intense, and it's got just enough death-metal influence to make it sonically interesting, so, here we are.

I've been evangelizing for Black Ice since my first spin. It's not like they need the money, but boy, it's just a swell record.

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thevulgartrade

Nov. 13th, 2008 05:42 pm (UTC)

Well, even if your average f-list dude isn't interested in reading this, I'm still glad you're writing it.

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ludickid

Nov. 13th, 2008 06:52 pm (UTC)

Well okay then.

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thevulgartrade

Nov. 13th, 2008 07:05 pm (UTC)

At least for the time being, I've gotten increasingly bored and annoyed by pansy-ass indie music, and I'm kind of worn out on the punk and garage in Chicago, and I don't know nearly enough about metal. This list will probably make a couple of trips to Reckless with me.

I will say, though, that I need to give Torche a few more spins, but I'm kind of on the fence about it. It's mostly good, but it comes off as oddly kind of emo in places.

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ludickid

Nov. 13th, 2008 08:08 pm (UTC)

Chicago's got a pretty good metal scene right now, what with Lair of the Minotaur and Pelican and Born of Osiris and Nachtmystium and a couple others.

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hipsterdetritus

Nov. 13th, 2008 06:27 pm (UTC)

BUT TEH SWORD AM HIPSTER METAL [/troo jackass]

This is good because I need more rock-the-fuck-out stuff on my 100-song year-end mix, but at the risk of looking like one of those AV Club diphammers, wotta bout Black Mountain? And, I dunno, maybe they're a bit too goofy, but Valient Thorr made a pretty damn good record, too. And Fucked Up, depending on how much that -ish suffix covers.

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ludickid

Nov. 13th, 2008 06:54 pm (UTC)

Are...are you being a YOU-FORGOTSIE?

Black Mountain I don't care for. Fucked Up sounds like something I'd like but I haven't heard it yet. Valient Thorr's record was good, but not good enough to crack my top 30.

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hipsterdetritus

Nov. 13th, 2008 06:55 pm (UTC)

You-Forgotsies don't actually legit care about reasons for omissions, do they?

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thehighhat

Nov. 13th, 2008 09:24 pm (UTC)

I'll send you a bunch of Fucked Up along with those Feelies-offshoots I promised you.

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ludickid

Nov. 14th, 2008 02:40 am (UTC)

Sweet! Thanks, mister.

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threepunchstuff

Nov. 13th, 2008 06:38 pm (UTC)

Opeth are still in it to win it? I stopped listening to them after Your Nuts, My Chin.

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ludickid

Nov. 13th, 2008 06:53 pm (UTC)

The new one's pretty good, that's all I know.

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secondperiod

Nov. 13th, 2008 07:01 pm (UTC)

Leonard - No Enslaved? No Bloodbath?

Shame on you.

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ludickid

Nov. 13th, 2008 08:09 pm (UTC)

I didn't really like the Bloodbath record. Enslaved would probably be #31 or 32 on my list.

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secondperiod

Nov. 14th, 2008 03:10 am (UTC)

Oh, and also, dude, Leviathan's "Massive Conspiracy Against All Life" and Nachtmystium's "Assassins" and the Lords of the North demo (can we count demos?) and The Gates of Slumber's "Conqueror" and Merciless Death's "Realm of Terror" and the new Amon Amarth.

I have not yet heard the new Darkthrone. I also have, but have not listened to that Warbringer record. The new Opeth does nothing for me. Blood Ceremony is fucking awesome.

I will say this here: Cynic's "Traced In Air" is the bet album of the fucking year in any musical style, and you are a liar if you say anything different.

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