Writing is Fighting

Laina's Top 20 Albums for 2008 - ME

Please note that I had to submit this to METAL EDGE ( I don't like the large caps - Metal Edge) at the beginning of October, I believe. Unfortunately, I then listened to a number of really awesome releases since then - if only I had known..........

1. Meshuggah, Obzen

2. Neuraxis, The Thin Line Between

3. Metallica, Death Magnetic

4. Slipknot, All Hope is Gone

5. Cancer Bats, Birthing the Giant

6. Melvins, Nude With Boots

7. Harvey Milk, Life….The Best Game In Town

8. Burst, Lazarus Bird

9. Genghis Tron, Board Up The House

10. Scars on Broadway, Scars on Broadway

11. Soulfly, Conquer

12. Judas Priest, Nostradamus

13. Opteth, Watershed

14. Motorhead, Motorizer

15. Testament, The Formation of Damnation

16. Made Out of Babies, The Ruiner

17. Cavelera Conspiracy, Inflikted

18. Boris, Smile

19. Torche, Meanderthal

20. DragonForce, The Ultimate Beatdown

 

So, some changes from this list: I would have moved Metallica and Skipknot down a little bit and put the fucking awesome new album by Misery Index, Traitors, up near the top. I reviewed the album for the Jan/Feb issue (out now!) a couple of months ago and I haven't stopped listening to it since. I also would have added in another band, The Faceless's Planetary Duality, which I absoutely love. I would have also moved up Harvey Milk and added in The Sword's Gods of the Earth  and Early Graves, We: The Guillotine which I raved about in my last post.

 

But I realize that I missed out on a number of awesome albums this year and just got around to checking out some 'oldies but goodies' such as Dying Fetus, which if you like Misery Index, is a slightly more aggro feel but similar, as Index's Jason Netherton ( you have to check out his blog, which is really interesting) used to be the bassist / vocalist for Fetus. Just some random triva.

 

So for 2009, I am anticipating the release of Mastodon's Crack the Skye (Feb), Slayer's new release (summer / fall, I think), and the new album by God Forbid (February also)........

Laina's Top Albums of 2008

              

These are just a handful of albums I absolutely loved this year that were released in 2008. One of the best things in writing for music publications is the amount of music that when you are my age, you would have never heard about. Over the past number of years, I have heard a lot of good music but unfortunately more crappy stuff than stellar. For instance, I did not listen to one Hip-Hop / R&B album this year. Too sad but that is the state of the industry, I guess (but I did hear that the new Erykah Badu album was tight).

As for 2008? I dunno. Some have said that it was a good year for metal, some have thought otherwise. For me, I listened to a lot of great stuff so I was pretty happy: A lot of good Doom / Stoner stuff came out, such as The Sword, Torche, Pelican and this band I just covered for ME, Viking Skull; some awesome Death / Grindcore stuff, like Misery Index, Neuraxis and The Faceless, this indescribable progressive death metal band that totally blew my mind the first time I heard the album. Oh yeah, you have to check out the newest album by this Canadian band, FiftyWattHead. Some serious stoner metal.

However, I did find myself discovering a number of albums that I missed in 2007. I listened to a lot of Melvins, Bib Business, tons of Mastodon, Neurosis, Harvey Milk, and the double-CD of the newest incarnation of Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell,  was on heavy rotation. I also took out probably one of my favourite albums of all time, Slayer's 2001 epic God Hates Us All, quite a bit. My friend Bryan turned me onto The Bronx, I really dug the latest album by Agnostic Front and liked Made Out Of Babies. Oh yeah, check out ( if you haven't already) Boris, the new SoulFly and Ghengis Tron, which I absoutely loved. Recently, I decided to check out Today is the Day because I was intrigued by Steve Austin who produced this fucking awesome band Early Graves. The singer, a brother named Makh, seems quite interesting and a must-interview for the future.

Future bands to check out which I haven't yet already: Cannibal Corpse, Goijra, Opeth ( acutally I checked out their Myspace but have to make a return visit), Disfear, Cynic, Bison BC, Five Finger Death Punch.......any more? Tell me which metal albums I should check out. Damn, I'm sure I'm missing a few........Oh yeah, you have to check the Misery Index - it is off the chain!