Your Top 10 albums of 2011

[Gamerforlife]

I wish I had bought more albums this year. I seem to find out about good releases long after they've been out. I don't have time to write thorough descriptions, but here's what I enjoyed most this year, in no particular order:

Nightwish - Imaginaerum
Alcest - Le Secret

Most anticipated album of 2012:
Alcest - Les Voyages De L'Ame

I love the new Nightwish album. Nice to see some other members digging it. Nightwish is one of those bands that shows no signs of slowing down. I miss Tarja though, but I've enjoyed some of her solo work and Annette is clearing busting her ass on each new Nightwish album so I give her a thumbs up

I've heard some Alcest, might explore that band a bit more. I do have some appreciation for shoegaze music(I was a fan of Curve), so it's kind of cool how they mix that with metal

I've enjoyed Nightwish since I first heard Angels Fall First in 1997. Great band.

Alcest is just fantastic. A lot of tr00 metalheads cried foul when these shoegaze-influenced bands started popping up, but I've always found black metal and shoegaze to be pretty similar genres all along. Loveless and In the Nightside Eclipse both have that hazy "wall of sound" guitar noise down pat.

I'm gonna check those out. From what I've heard, Alcest has actually gotten some non-metal heads into metal and that's all good in my book

[REPO Man]

One '12 album I'm looking forward to is Marilyn Manson's "Born Villain". What little I know about it makes it the first MM album I've ever looked forward to. And it's coming out in February. I kinda wanna guess a Valentine's Day release is to be expected.

Also hear that Seattle-based late-'80s metal band Sanctuary is gonna release a new album (their third).

Oh, and I forgot about two other '11 albums I bought. The latest from Creature Feature (not as good as their previous, though) and Wednesday 13's Calling All Corpses (good, but not my fave W13 album).

[noiseredux]

Golden Age of Grotesque was the last Manson album I enjoyed.

[Mephikun]

1. Escape the Fate - Dying is Your Latest Fashion

2. Escape the Fate - This War is Ours

3. Falling in Reverse - The Drug in Me is You

4. Lostprophets - The Fake Sound of Progress

5. Lostprophets - Start Something

6. Lostprophets - Liberation Transmission

7. Lostprophets - The Betrayed

8. Black Veil Brides - Set the World on Fire

9. Panic at the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

10. Tokio Hotel - Scream

Not in any specific order. But Escape the Fate and Falling in Reverse are currently my favorite bands.

[noiseredux]

1. Escape the Fate - Dying is Your Latest Fashion

2. Escape the Fate - This War is Ours

3. Falling in Reverse - The Drug in Me is You

4. Lostprophets - The Fake Sound of Progress

5. Lostprophets - Start Something

6. Lostprophets - Liberation Transmission

7. Lostprophets - The Betrayed

8. Black Veil Brides - Set the World on Fire

9. Panic at the Disco - A Fever You Can't Sweat Out

10. Tokio Hotel - Scream

Not in any specific order. But Escape the Fate and Falling in Reverse are currently my favorite bands.

did any of these albums come out in 2011?

[Razzmatazz]

1. Cyrus Malachi - Ancient Future

As a Brit this album just resonated so well with me. I was a fan of Cyrus' work with Triple Darkness and thought he stood out with his deep voice and awesome vocabulary, and although this album has a heap of guests, it has everything. There's the banging "Dark Skies", the beautiful tracks about family and women; "Duality" and "Black Madonna", and the posse cuts with Ruste Juxx and Wu affiliates. It's British hip hop without being too British, or trying to be too American. And the beats are hard. But most importantly it's an album from a rapper with something to say. And he says it so well.

2. Apathy - Honkey Kong

Massive fan of Apathy and it's been a while since the excellent throwback album Eastern Philosophy, and this is a great follow up. Get this album just for the Beatminerz work on "Peace Connecticut". One of the best tracks of the year "Check to Check" produced by Evidence is a top single, and then there is the DJ Premier produced "Stop What Ya Doin'" which in my opinion, should have been as big as Jay-Z's "99 Problems".

3. MOP - Sparta

At 10 tracks a lot of hip hop fans were probably feeling cheated but Illmatic was that length. This album is long short of that classic but if you're an MOP fan (and who isn't!?) this is pure unadulterated carnage that needs to be played loud. LOUD. "Body on the Iron" is just ridiculous and a guaranteed head nodder.

4. Grieves - Together Apart

I'm not normally a fan of Atmosphere or the quirky Rhymesayers artists, but after seeing Grieves' video for "Light Speed" I had to check him out. It's a very honest album and Grieves does a lot of singing along with the rapping but it's not mushy. Very good album, and along with Cyrus' is the only one I bought last year.

5. Canibus - Lyrical Law

Canibus put out some great music last year with "Melatonin Magick" and "C of Tranquility" and this album is just pure lyrics. To be fair, I think Canibus albums fall short on the beats but he is getting better with his choices, and although the production isn't amazing, it doesn't have to be when the focus is on lyricism and includes fellow lyrical giants Royce Da 5'9'', Chino XL and Ras Kass.

6. Reks - Rhymatic Eternal King Supreme (REKS)

Go to Youtube and search "Reks - 25th Hour". Neck hurt? That incredible single is backed up with a heap of excellent songs like "This Is Me", "Kill Em" and "Cigarettes" and the production doesn't get more stellar. Alchemist, Hi-Tek, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Nottz, Statik Selektah.... COP IT.

7. Evidence - Cats & Dogs

Evidence has always been one of my favourites. His videos are great and this album is just brilliant. "You" produced by the unstoppable Premo is immense and "It Wasn't Me" is full of quotables. In fact Ev has so many great one liners and it just feels effortless. He reminds me of Blueprint-era Jay-Z where whatever he says you just know it is dope.

8. Savage Bros & Lord Lhus - The Iron Fist

Snowgoons when they first arrived I did enjoy their work, and when "Black Snow" dropped I was like DAMN these guys make some serious beats. It's very artificial and industrial sounding, but it sounds so clean, so orchestral. In my opinion nobody does it like them and there are a lot of imposters (Jedi Mind Tricks have used a lot of Snowgoons clones). But this album, although the lyrics are just sort of there, the production is immense. "Game Time" is my favourite beat of the year, "South East" is hench and the posse cut "5 Criminals" is just nuts. I am glad they teamed up with MOP for "Sparta".

9. Asylum Lifetime & Sherm Larock - Political Asylum

Who? I discovered these guys on Spotify and this album is just a straight boom bap hardcore hip hop album. It claims to be political but it's no Immortal Technique, the MCs are decent but they have good chemistry and it almost feels like a mixtape but it's hard to describe it, it just has a classic feel to it even though I know it's not a classic. It's just a well made solid traditional hip hop album.

10. Pharaohe Monch - We Are Renegades (WAR)

"Clap" has been heralded as the best hip hop single of the year and it's hard to see why not. Great lyrics and a beat that makes me realise why I love hip hop. Drops, scratches, hard snares. The album is great too, with a strong political undertone, the production is consistently on point, especially Exile on "Evolve" and the Immortal Technique feature on "W.A.R" is anthem material.

[AppleQueso]

Amebix - Sonic Mass

Been meaning to check this out actually.

[aaron]

Jane's Addiction - The Great Escape Artist
- Great comeback record from a band that already tried to put out a coemback record and failed miserably. So much better than "Strays" from start to finish. Dave Sitek's bass is incredible and I really wish he were touring with them.

Terius Nash (The-Dream) - 1977
- This is the harshest, most brutally honest hip-hop breakup album I have heard in my life. The production is slick and the tracks are all SO hard (except for the weird Deniece Williams cover...). Been a huge fan of The-Dream since Love/Hate so I was really psyched for this one. I also really respected the fact that he released this under his own name, on his own, for free. I think his label was pretty pissed.

Ryan Adams - Ashes & Fire
- Absolutely brilliant. Heart-wrenching folk ballads from a modern master. Someone mentioned a hearkening back to the "Heartbreaker" and "Demolition" days, and I agree wholeheartedly. If you stopped listing to DRA after Jacksonville City Nights, you're missing out. Hard.

Alcest - Le Secret
- Loved this, mainly because when I initially heard "Le Secret" as it was originally released, the quality of the recording was the only thing keeping it from really shining like the two full-lengths that followed it. The two re-recorded tracks on the EP now sound like the should have from the beginning.

Liturgy - Aesthetica
- I don't care what people say about this record, I think it's incredible. My roommate played this one for me on the last week of the year and I couldn't have been more blown away. Excellent guitarwork, masterful blasting, and vocals that sound like someone is being tortured beyond all shades of human decency. The seven minute breakdown that is "Generation" is worth the price of admission alone.

Ben Folds - The Best Imitation of Myself
- Great retrospective from one of my all-time favorite artists. Nothing super special but I was really jazzed on the new Ben Folds Five tracks.

C-Rayz Walz - All Blvck Everything
- Awesome positive hip hop. check this out:

Britney Spears - Femme Fatale
- I don't really give a shit. I like to party. This album is awesome.

Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
- I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with this one but I've liked it. It's really, really sad.

Silversun Pickups - Seasick
- Always great. Not really much to say. Sorta added this one in because it was the last release that came out this year that I gave a shit about.

Special Mention:
Sigur Ros - Inni (live blu-ray/dvd)
- If you consider yourself a Sigur Ros fan and haven't seen this yet, you need to. The camerawork is fantastic and really compliments the music well. The performances are on point. This band is flawless.



so, that was my year.

[Mephikun]

Oh, they had to have come out in 2011... None.

[Luke]

Very eclectic group here as far as music goes.