Diario

So, yet another issue of the Year End Summary is about to amuse and bewilder you. It was an awesome year for music, and it was also a totally magnificent year for my other passion, cinema, but that's not the place to speak about it. Anyway, for quite some time I've had this thought that this summary business is kinda stupid – suddenly in December you realise how many potentially awesome albums you've missed and then you desperately try to make up for it by listening as much as you can, neglecting your work, studies, family, girlfriend, cat or whatever you've got to care for. Not that I intend to drop doing this or something, I guess I just like doing pointless stuff nobody cares about. Oh well, I start to blabber here. So, let's get ready to rumble!


3/10:
This Or The Apocalypse – Dead Years (The Worst Album of the Year and The Disappointment of the Year; it's actually really, really sad how this band managed to stoop so low after two great releases...)
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I don't consider myself devoted black metal fan. I am more casual listener and I don't follow scene so closely and track down all bands/releases. However I do listen to black metal a lot, especially in autumn/winter months.

Since I am doomster, it is obvious that I do not like and seek monotonous, "raw", vacuum-cleaner-like, too under-produced murky black metal. I listen to more sophisticated, more atmospheric/ambient, melodic black metal with interesting arrangements, changes in tempo, various samples, and acceptable production. Also I do not like black metal with too much "post" and "shoegaze" elements and pure depressive black metal (too boring). Lyrically, I prefer bands that sing about more abstract themes like universe, nature, philosophy, psychology, human nature and/or pagan themes rather than satanic/occult concepts. But as long as music is superb, I do not care too much about lyrics.

These are the best black albums of 2012. in my opinion:
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A small The Ruins of Beverast album Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite review.

There are those awkward moments: I want to listen to a great album full of Black Metal aesthetics and I'm kind of getting bored with all the traditional satanic stuff blast-beating the living shit out of speakers, driving fellow people insane. Although I enjoy that stuff - in fact, I enjoy that very much - Hearing some guys dressed in corpsepaint and spikes, shrieking blasphemies at every turn, blastbeat and guitar stroke, shaking those booty's (Immortal, haha) - it makes me happy and feel at home and that's great!
But as with everything - variety is the stuff that keeps things fresh. So, when traditional Black Metal fails to satisfy my urge for fast, deep and evil and atmospheric sounding music, I look at Avant-garde, Industrial and Ambient Black Metal releases (Blut aus Nord; Darkspace; Paysage d'Hiver; Dødheimsgard; Reverence; Aborym; Manes; Arcturus; Diabolical Masquerade; etc. …

5.0 = amazing, everyone should get it, almost unquestionably aoty.
4.5 = extremely good, definitely aoty material but i don't feel comfortable with giving it a 5.
4.0 = very good, definitely worth grabbing.
3.5 = quite good, i would strongly recommend all albums at this level or above.
3.0 = good. i usually default to this if i feel it needs more listens but was pretty good on first / second listen.
2.5 = solid, worth getting. i usually default to this if i feel it needs more listens to fully get the hang of.
2.0 = not bad, worth getting if you're a fan of the band.
1.5 = mediocre, if you really like the band you may as well grab it but otherwise i don't recommend it.
1.0 = pretty bad.

* = needs another listen or two, may get deleted


- [album artist=][/album]
A Liquid Landscape - Nightingale Express
A Silver Mt. Zion - "The West Will Rise Again"
Absolace - Fractals
Acyl - Algebra
Adeia - Hourglass
Adolf Plays The Jazz - Form Follows Function
Afternoon - between
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Top 2012
Internacionais:
1- Verdunkeln - Weder Licht Noch Schatten
2- Ahab - The Giant
3- Anhedonist - Netherwards
4- Evoken - Atra Mors
5- Paradise Lost - Tragic Idol
6- Serpentine Path - Serpentine Path
7- Secrets of the Moon - Seven Bells
8- Blut aus Nord - 777 Cosmosophy
9- Wound Upon Wound - Wound Upon Wound
10- Dodecahedron - Dodecahedron
11- Reverence - The Asthenic Ascension
12- Hail Spirit Noir - Pneuma
13- Khonsu - Anomalia
14- Saturnus - Saturn In Ascension
15- Kvlt of Hiob - Thy Kingly Mask
16- Enslaved - Riitiir
17- Worship - Terranean Wake
18- Unleashed - Odalheim
19- My Dying Bride - A Map Of All Our Failures
20- Bosse-de-Nage - III

Top 2012
Nacionais:
1- Moonspell - Alpha Noir/Omega White
2- Ab Imo Pectore - The Dissociative Path
3- Göatfukk - Procession Of Forked Tongues
4- The Firstborn - Lions Among Man
5- Process Of Guilt - Faemin
6- Alchemist-Flesh to Be Broken
7- A Tree Of Signs - Salt
8- Sinistro - Sinistro
9- Wavelength:Satan-Time-Blood Theory
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Yearlist 2012

Album Top 10
01. Dodecahedron - Dodecahedron
02. Valborg - Nekrodepression
03. Nachtmystium - Silencing Machine
04. Rise and Fall - Faith
05. Blut aus Nord - 777 - Cosmosophy
06. Gojira - L'Enfant Sauvage
07. Reverence - The Asthenic Ascension
08. Sear Bliss - Eternal Recurrence
09. Malignancy - Eugenics
10. Khonsu - Anomalia

Honorable mentions: Beyond Terror Beyond Grace - Nadir, Converge - All We Love We Leave Behind, Kontinuum - Earth Blood Magic, Meshuggah - Koloss, Neurosis - Honor Found In Decay, Svartidauði - Flesh Cathedral, Vaura - Selenelion

Concert Top 10
01. Bongripper @ Roadburn
02. Hank Williams III + From Ashes Rise + Tragedy @ Hellfest
03. Suffocation + Origin + Gorguts @ Neurotic Deathfest
04. Sleep @ Trix Antwerpen
05. Disavowed + Wormed @ Extremefest
06. Hauschka @ De Duif Amsterdam
07. Kill The Client @ Bloodshed Fest
08. The Devil's Blood @ Burgerweeshuis Deventer
09. Swans @ Doornroosje Nijmegen
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Top 10 ranked, others in chronological order:

1. Arcturus – Sideshow Symphonies (2005) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP7TzWbLWag

2. Enslaved – Ruun (2006) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PgxBWhvExw

3. Opeth – Watershed (2008) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJoFnnCqsnY

4. Negura Bunget – Om (2006) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgkUO6lz9mI

5. Shining – V: Halmstad (2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBwgD_L7j9E

6. Riverside – Rapid Eye Movement (2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMqd7zYkQaw

7. Porcupine Tree – In Absentia (2002) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VfjNAs4lCU

8. Ulver – Blood Inside (2005) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFdcf_XUAKM

9. Pain of Salvation – Be (2004) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQWAH962ZDI

10. Virus – The Black Flux (2008)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7KhWmDd0Yk

Ozric Tentacles – The Hidden Step (2000)
Primordial – Spirit The Earth Aflame (2000)

Tool – Lateralus (2001)
Paranoise – ISHQ (2001)
Therion – Secret Of The Runes (2001)
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2009 was another interesting year, musicwise. I moved more towards styles like post metal and post rock and discovered a lot of such bands (Callisto, Irepress, No Made Sense, Gifts From Enola, Russian Circles).

At the same time it was also fantastic year regards progressive/avantgarde/experimental black metal as there were superb albums from Reverence, Klabautamann, Oranssi Pazuzu, Semen Datura, Code.

And then there were numerous great instrumental albums from Exivious, Animals as Leaders, Kong, If These Trees Could Talk, Ozric Tentacles.

Somewhat disappointing compared to their previous albums were: Porcupine Tree, Secrets of the Moon, Irreversible, Ghost Brigade, A Storm of Light.

The best positive surprises compared to their previous albums were: Indukti, Mastodon, Isis, Karl Sanders, Minsk.

My top 80 albums of 2009

1. Indukti – Idmen
2. Isis – Wavering Radiant
3. Reverence – Inactive Theocracy
4. Callisto – Providence
5. Klabautamann – Merkur
6. Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition
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