Top albums of 2011

[unalaguna]

Seeing Wiche's post in the Arch/Matheos post, and noting that (for me at least), it's only three hours till December, I thought maybe we should get the ball rolling and talk about our favourite albums of 2011!

Here are a few albums (ok - more than a few!) released this year that I've enjoyed:

*Shels - Plains of the Purple Buffalo
And So I Watch You From Afar - Gangs
Bass Communion - Cenotaph
Blackfield - Welcome to my DNA
Blueneck - Repetitions
Boris - New Album
Brian Eno & Rick Holland - Drums Between the Bells
Colin Stetson - Judges
Devin Townsend - Deconstruction / Ghost
Efrim Manuel Menuck - plays "High Gospel"
Fair to Midland - Arrows & Anchors
Faust - Something Dirty
Kashiwa Daisuke - 88
The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - From the Stairwell
Mastodon - The Hunter
Matthew Cooper - Some Days are Better than Others
Moby - Destroyed
Opeth - Heritage
Primus - Green Naugahyde
Scale the Summit - The Collective
Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Unexpect - Fables of the Sleepless Empire
Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason

What has everyone else been enjoying?

[vivace]

for me 2011 was a bit of a "Happy with What You Have to Be Happy With" year as far as music.

i guess of the new albums i enjoyed were just:
Dream Theater
Arch/Matheos
Primus

explored a lot of stuff that was new to me but not new releases...

Offerings i was disappointed with:
Blackfield
Redemption

[postymcposterton]

I'm still re-listening (re-spinning the 2011s)... plus there are a few more still to come out that may make my list... so, I'll check back in in late December... for now, though (no ranking, per se, outside of #1 & #2)...

1) My Brightest Diamond All Things Will Unwind
2) Puscifer Conditions of My Parole
Earth Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1
Michael Kelsey Submerged
Peter Mulvey & David Goodrich Nine Days Wonder
Tides from Nebula Earthshine
dredg Chuckles and Mr Squeezy
Jeffrey Foucault Horse Latitudes
Jason Ludwig Tanglings
Jason Ludwig Lost in Love
My Brightest Diamond & Murat Eyuboglu Letters to Distant Cities (words of Mustafa Ziyalan)
Opeth Heritage
Over the Rhine The Long Surrender
Steven Wilson Grace for Drowning
Radiohead The King of Limbs
Wussy Strawberry

More thorough list by end of the year...

~Dan

[postymcposterton]

My "2011 mix" is streaming this year (you can also DL it).

Check it out... and share. Hopefully it turns people on to some new artists...

pacificlectic.com/2011/12/24/snawsyci2011/

~Dan

[postymcposterton]

Top 10 Vocal albums...
1 Puscifer - Conditions of My Parole
2 My Brightest Diamond - All Things Will Unwind
3 dredg - Chuckles and Mr Squeezy
4 Over the Rhine - The Long Surrender
5 Opeth - Heritage
6 Jeffrey Foucault - Horse Latitudes
7 Radiohead - The King of Limbs
8 Wussy - Strawberry
9 Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
10 David Bazan - Strange Negotiations
More here (11-25): pacificlectic.com/2011/12/29/fave-vocal-albums-of-2011/

Instrumental ones tomorrow...

~Dan

[wiche]

There are just two albums that got me this 2011:

1. The Jelly Jam - Shall We Descend (Best album of 2011)
2. Arch/Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance

If you haven't listened to The Jelly Jam one go listen to it, it'll blow you away!

[postymcposterton]

my Top 10 instrumental albums of 2011
1 Earth Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1
2 Michael Kelsey Submerged
3 Tides from Nebula Earthshine
4-6 Dave Douglas Three Views: GPS Series - Rare Metals/Orange Afternoons/Bad Mango
7 Matt Chamberlain, Viktor Krauss, Dan Phelps & Others (including Eyvind Kang) Modular: Sonic Explorations
8 Reptet At the Cabin
9 Kevin Moore Shine - Küçük Kıyamet Soundtrack
10 Erik Friedlander Bonebridge
More...
pacificlectic.com/2011/12/31/fave-instrumental-2011/

~Dan

[gowanis]

Here's my top 11. I published this list a few weeks ago, and have since discovered an album that was technically released in 2010 that is so damn good, that I'm moving it to #2:

11. Megadeth - Thirteen
10. Bass Communion - Cenotaph
9. Opeth - Heritage
8. Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now
7. Jelly Jam - Shall We Descend
6. Queensryche - Dedicated To Chaos
5. Steven Wilson - Grace For Drowning
4. Arch Matheos - Sympathetic Resonance
3. Redemption - This Mortal Coil
2. Ghost - Opus Eponymous
1. Foo Fighters - Wasting Light


Have you heard of Ghost? This band's debut CD has me completely mesmerized. They are not my typical fare, but for some reason I am completely obsessed.

They are from Sweden and the album is basically a love letter to Satan. The singer "Papa Emeritus" dresses like the Pope in a ghoul mask. The band all wear hooded black robes. The music is not what you would expect. I would describe it as old school (late 70s/early 80s) metal. The vocals are all clean and the melodies are incredible. They have a sparse, simple sound with some nice keyboard touches. Some have compared them to Blue Oyster Cult or Mercyful Fate. I'm not familiar with MF, but Ghost does not have high pitched cheese vocals.

When you see them on stage they seem one half sinister and one half goof. The music is simply great.

Check out this studio track and then some live video to see what they look like. I have been playing this CD non-stop!!

[unalaguna]

Dec 31, 2011 11:42:15 GMT -5 postymcposterton said:

my Top 10 instrumental albums of 2011
1 Earth Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1
2 Michael Kelsey Submerged
3 Tides from Nebula Earthshine
4-6 Dave Douglas Three Views: GPS Series - Rare Metals/Orange Afternoons/Bad Mango
7 Matt Chamberlain, Viktor Krauss, Dan Phelps & Others (including Eyvind Kang) Modular: Sonic Explorations
8 Reptet At the Cabin
9 Kevin Moore Shine - Küçük Kıyamet Soundtrack
10 Erik Friedlander Bonebridge
More...
pacificlectic.com/2011/12/31/fave-instrumental-2011/

~Dan

I've listened to the Earth album a few times... can't say it clicked. It felt quite dry to me.

My top 10 (well, technically 11):
1. Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction/Ghost
2. Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges
3. Efrim Manuel Menuck - plays "High Gospel"
4. Fair To Midland - Arrows & Anchors
5. Mastodon - The Hunter
6. Boris - New Album
7. This Will Destroy You - Tunnel Blanket
8. Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
9. Steven Wilson - Grace for Drowning
10. *shels - Plains of the Purple Buffalo