31 Albums From 2013

Introduction
31. Serj Tankian - Orca & Jazz-Iz-Christ
30. Thriller - A Metal Tribute To Michael Jackson
29. Means End - The Didact
28. Black Sabbath - 13
27. Dead Letter Circus - The Catalyst Fire
26. The Dillinger Escape Plan - One Of Us Is The Killer
25. Bear - Noumenon
24. Protest The Hero - Volition

23. Hacride - Back To Where You've Never Been

22. Palms - Palms
21. Last Chance To Reason - Level 3
20. Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals - Walk Through Exits Only
19. Alice In Chains - The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
18. Circles - Infinitas
17. Russian Circles - Memorial
16. One Minute Silence - Fragmented Armageddon
15. Killswitch Engage - Disarm The Descent
14. Glass Cloud - Perfect War Forever
13. Our Last Night - Oak Island & Summer Of Covers
12. Tesseract - Altered State
11. Lamb Of God - As The Palaces Burn (Remastered)

10. Sevendust - Black Out The Sun

9. Volto! - Incitare

8. Tomahawk - Oddfellows

7. The Ocean - Pelagial

6. Fit For An Autopsy - Hellbound

5. Karnivool - Asymmetry

4. Intronaut - Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words with Tones)

3. Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

2. Carcass - Surgical Steel

1. David Maxim Micic - Bilo 3.0

31 Albums From 2013: Day 31

So here it is, my album of the year. Before the release of this in November, I was struggling to pick what #1 on this list would be. I enjoyed everything that made the list, but none of them absolutely blew me away. Then I saw that musician David Maxim Micic announced the release of 'Bilo 3.0', the third installment of his solo EP series. I had enjoyed 'Bilo 1.0' and 'Bilo 2.0', but there really was only a single track off of each that I loved, so I figured the trend would continue with 3.0. I was very wrong. This release is truly a piece of art. David clearly wasn't aiming for a certain genre or style, he was just making music for the sake of making music. Each track flows together beautifully, making it near impossible to listen to individual tracks. It truly must be experienced as a whole. David even took themes from the previous Bilo's and continued them, which I absolutely love. This isn't just an album for musicians though, even with great song writing, amazing guest guitar soloists, and perfectly selected vocalists, there is something for everyone here. Do yourself a favor and listen to it NOW!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 30

Earlier in this list, I mentioned how there are usually one of three things that happen when a band returns after a long hiatus: 1. they try something new in an attempt to sound current (and almost always fail), 2. they stick with what they know and come off sounding dated, or 3. they find a happy medium between the two, which is a rarity. Carcass somehow pulled off the near impossible by staying true to their sound and giving us something new and relevant. 'Surgical Steel' is chock full of their signature guitar harmonies, evil vocals and insanely fast drumming. Pure metal madness! It's great to have Carcass back and even better that they still kick ass!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 29

I never really considered myself a big Queens Of The Stone Age fan. If a song came on the radio, I would leave it on, but I never got the urge to get one of their albums. When I saw a post from a friend saying their latest release, '...Like Clockwork', was incredible, I was skeptical, but figured it was worth checking out. I watched a video that plays like a short film which uses a few songs from the album (that I put below this post for you to enjoy). I was instantly sold and grabbed the album asap. The whole thing flows together beautifully. Nothing over done, no crazy time signatures or  mega solos, just a great solid rock album.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 28

Intronaut is another band on this list that continues to improve with every album. They have all proven to be great musicians who know how to write a good song, so they put efforts into bringing the vocals to the same level, and I believe they succeeded. 'Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words with Tones)' is an album that will stay in my rotation for a long time.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 27

I fell in love with Karnivool later than I wished I had. I knew of them for years but didn't know much about them until their last album 'Sound Awake', which blew me away. Since then, I've spent a lot of time listening to their back catalog and hearing how they have progressed over the years. With each of their releases being very different than their last, I didn't expect anything less from this years release, 'Asymmetry', and I was right. The song writing is even more mature, creating atmospheric sounds that pull you in and won't let you go until the final note. The song 'We Are' is by far one of their best yet and also has one of the best videos of the year as well. One that fits with the song perfectly and tells a story that makes me wish a movie was made out of it. Press play and thank me later.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 26

With working in retail and dealing with people on a daily basis, I sometimes feel the need to release some of the anger caused by these people (legally of course) that I bottle up inside of me. One way I like to do this is to listen to some really pissed off music that I can blast in the car on the way home. Fit For An Autopsy's 'Hellbound' worked perfectly for many of these occasions! For fans of Whitechapel and The Acacia Strain, these guys do the deathcore thing their way by mixing other metal styles in there seamlessly, which is a difficult accomplishment. I dare you not to nod your head to the chorus in the song 'Dead In The Dirt' posted below.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 25

The Ocean is a band that seems to mature and get better with every release and 'Pelagial' is no exception. It's a concept album that explores the oceanic depth zones and it's descent into the darkness. It was originally conceived as an instrumental album, largely because of their vocalist having medical issues with his throat, but having been able to resolve that, vocals were added. They made the decision to release both versions, which are equally enjoyable.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 24

Ever since Faith No More, Mike Patton has been one my all time favorite vocalists and continues to stay in that list with almost every project he does. Tomahawk, a more straight forward rock group, brings us their fourth release and return to the rock sound after doing an experimental album, 'Anonymous', that explored Native American songs. As I can appreciate that release, it's not one that I go back to often. Now we have 'Oddfellows'. This picks up right where 'Mit Gas' left off and it's great! I'm also happy that they have added bassist Trevor Dunn to the group. If 2014 can bring a new Faith No More album, I'll be the happiest boy alive!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 23

I'm a big fan of the band Tool, and it is a required trait to be very patient, as it has now been seven years since they last released a record. I was really hoping this was the year, but no such luck. When I heard the drummer Danny Carey's instrumental side project, Volto!, released an album, I was at least content with that. 'Incitare' is truly a step back in time to the 70's prog rock era. Danny's drumming is certainly very prominent in every song and highlighted in the 8+ minute song 'Drumbeaux' that frankly gave me a drumboner!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 22

Sevendust and I have had a rocky relationship over the years. The first couple of years were great, their debut self titled album and 'Home' brought me nothing but joy. They quickly shot to the top of my favorite bands list. Then they did a song for 'Strait Up', the tribute album for Lynn Strait. This tune, 'Angel's Son', was a true ballad, which they hadn't really done before this. I did like the song but the problem that spawned from this was they got more radio airplay and attention from this one song than any others before it and the record label saw dollar signs. From then on, Sevendust began releasing albums that were much more commercial sounding and toured with other radio friendly bands opposed to the heavier bands they used to share the stage with. Because of this, I gave up on them, thinking I had lost them for good. In 2005, I heard that guitarist Clint Lowery had left and Sonny Mayo (formerly of Snot) had taken his place. Out of curiosity, I decided to give their new disc 'Next' a shot and was shocked to hear three of the heaviest songs they have ever written. I was back on board, or so I thought. I didn't love everything on the album, as the radio friendly element was still there, but it was a step in the right direction. I even went to concert where they toured with Mudvayne and Sevendust absolutely blew them off the stage. Unfortunately, the next two albums didn't do a lot for me and I fell off the train again. They took seem to have taken a step back into radio friendly land. They even had Chris Daughtry on a tune. Blah. In 2008, I heard word that Clint had returned and Sonny was no longer with them, but hearing what Clint had been doing in the meantime with his other band Dark New Day (an even more commercial sounding version of Sevendust), I didn't even bother trying anymore. This brings us to the year 2013 and the release of 'Black Out The Sun'. I kept hearing about how the boys finally returned to the heavier side again, so I decided to give them one more shot. It took a lot for me to come to terms with it, but I liked it! Just like 'Next', I don't love everything, probably about half of the album I truly enjoy, but that's more than I could say about their last three albums. I was shocked to even hear Clint do some screaming. Maybe it's because Clint has done a mellow solo album and started a side project with drummer Morgan Rose that helped get the wimpy tunes out of their system, but who knows. I just REALLY hope they stay on this path this time around. Please!!!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 21

There have been many remixed and remastered albums over the years and most I don't blink an eye at, but when I heard that Lamb Of God was giving 'As The Palaces Burn' this treatment for the 10th anniversary of the release, I got a bit giddy! This was the album that introduced me to the awesomeness that is LoG. As much as I love everything about it, I always found it a bit difficult to listen to, especially when in a mix with songs from other albums, purely because of the quality of the mix. Being able to listen to it with this new mix was like hearing it for the first time. I was unaware that the drums on the original album were replaced with triggered drum sounds (which I learned about in the documentary about the making of 'ATPB' which was a very interesting watch) so just hearing the true recorded drum sounds was enough to make me happy. It is really cool to compare the two versions. I even found a few things I prefer on the original mix. If you are an existing LoG fan, I highly recommend getting this new mix. If you haven't heard this album before, get the original version so you can get the full experience first. Below, I have put both versions of track 1, 'Ruin' for you to compare yourself. Which do you prefer?

31 Albums From 2013: Day 20

Tesseract hasn't exactly had the best luck with singers. Of the three releases they've had, each one features a different vocalist. Their debut album 'One' instantly put them on my favorite bands list. Once I heard the news of their vocalist at that time, Daniel Tompkins, was leaving, I got very worried as he had a large piece in setting them apart from other bands with a similar style. I stuck with them for their next release, an EP called 'Perspective' with new vocalist Elliot Coleman. This was a tough one for me. Elliot is a really good vocalist, but his style just didn't meld with the music in my opinion. Shortly after the release of the EP, Elliot also departed, leaving Tesseract vocal-less once again. I again saddled up for another new journey and was pleased (and honestly relieved) when I heard a single featuring their latest (and hopefully final) singer, Ashe O'Hara. Ashe's style is a lot similar to Daniel's, which made me happy, but a bit more on the mellow side. I don't know if the band took note of this or it just worked out this way, but their new album 'Altered State' is also a lot more on the mellow side. I would say they have more of a prog rock sound rather than the prog metal style found in 'One'. It did take some getting used to as I did miss the high energy, but after excepting this new direction, I was able to truly enjoy it.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 19

Our Last Night has had a very busy year. They started the year off by doing an acoustic cover of Adele's 'Skyfall' which seemed to have spawned the 'Summer Of Covers' EP that consisted of Rihanna's 'Stay', Justin Timberlake's 'Mirrors', Imagine Dragon's 'Radioactive' and Zedd's 'Clarity'. They finished out the run of covers with 'Wrecking Ball' by Miler Cyrus. With all of that going on, they also launched an Indiegogo campaign to get funding for a dual EP project that has a pretty cool concept. The same songs will be featured on both EP's, one loud and heavy and the other acoustic. Well, their fans apparently really liked this idea as well and not only meet their goal of $15,000, but managed to raise over $46! Did I mention all of this was done without the help of a record label? Yup! Because of this, the band rushed to make a music video and released it just a week after the campaign ended. In November, the first of the dual EP's were released. 'Oak Island' island features 7 songs that continues to showcase their talent and growth as musicians. This is definitely the version I was most excited about and they certainly delivered, but I do look forward to hearing the acoustic version as well.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 18

Last year, Glass Cloud made an impressive debut with their album 'The Royal Thousand' and they have kept up their momentum by releasing an EP. 'Perfect War Forever' managed to get even heavier and darker and I love it! I'm a big fan of guitarist Joshua Travis' playing style. 8 string guitarists aren't that rare anymore, but he truly brings something new to the table. Let's hope 2014 brings another full length!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 17

I was a fan of Howard Jones (and am really excited about his new project, Devil May Know), but it is great to have Jesse back. His rawness is one of the things that made 'Alive Or Just Breathing' such a great album. Their latest album, 'Disarm The Descent', doesn't have as much power, but is still a good entry to the KsE discography. It may have a large part to do with me being spoiled by too much 7 and 8 string guitars these days that standard tuning doesn't have the umph it used to, but that may just be me! Still good to have Jesse back, now let's get Seemless back together next!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 16

One Minute Silence is a band that unfortunately gets lumped in with the 'rap rock' category and that is truly a mistake. Vocalist Yap's style is better described as spoken word, but regardless of that, they make some kick ass music. In 2003, the band broke-up, but luckily for us, they decided to give it another go and released this EP, 'Fragmented Armageddon'. Even with only 4 new songs and two remixes on it, each one really packs a punch and made me truly proud of their comeback. The song 'Fruit From The Lie' is one of their best yet. I can't wait for a full length!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 15

Russian Circles is not your typical show boaty instrumental band, they are all about creating an atmospheric sound that sucks you in and their latest album 'Memorial' is no different. There was one surprise I wasn't expecting, the title track actually has vocals! Chelsea Wolfe fits in very well with their style so much so that it didn't even hit me that I was hearing a singer on a Russian Circles tune right away! Another album I enjoy while working on projects.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 14

Circles continue to do what they do best in their latest release 'Infinitas', and even managed to push themselves a bit further to really step it up. The singer very obviously put work into improving his screaming which definitely shows, and the subtle use of tribal influences in a couple songs added some versatility to the mix which I dig. Another solid album that is worth checking out.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 13

My favorite band from the grunge era, Alice In Chains, brings us their second album since their rebirth. 'The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here' is a decent album but almost feels more like one of Jerry Cantrell's mellow solo albums since there isn't a lot of umph in most of the tunes, but the signature harmonies keep it going. The songs 'Stone' and 'Hollow' are definitely the strongest tracks.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 12

Philip H. Anselmo. We all know that name. Whether you are a fan or not, we can all agree that Phil hasn't had the easiest ride for the past 9 years, and this new project is truly the result of that. Earlier this year, we were introduced to his new project, Philip H. Anselmo  & The Illegals, through a split EP with the band Warbeast, who is also on Phil's record label, Housecore Records. 2 of the 4 songs were Phil's and they got me excited to hear more. The full length album, 'Walk Through Exits Only', that came out later this year continued the same stripped down, dirty, angry and sometimes even sloppy punk metal that speaks volumes as to what Phil has been through. I think this new band is an important step for him and I look forward to hearing more in the future.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 11

Last Chance To Reason is a prog metal band I recently got into. I would put them in a category with Between The Buried And Me and The Contortionist (which it was also announced this year that the singer has also become The Contortionist singer, which isn't a stretch at all). They have been consistently getting more melodic and progressive with each album and 'Level 3' is no exception. If you like a little bit of math in your metal, check these guys out!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 10

Being a big fan of both The Deftones and Isis, naturally I was excited when I heard members of the two bands have started a new project. After some thought, I began to grow a little worried about what the final product would be. The style of Isis was a bit droney and drawn out, but the aggressive vocals always kept the energy there. Chino is one of my favorite vocalists but he has also been known to do some stuff that was a bit lacking in energy, like his side project Sleep City, so the combination of the two concerned me a bit. After a full listen of the album, I do have to say it's a bit, well, boring. It is still good and I often listen to it as background music, but I won't be blasting it in the car anytime soon.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 9

With always being on a search for new music, this time of year is great for new discoveries just by reading other top albums of the year lists. That is exactly how I found this band, Hacride. I haven't had a chance to check out the entire album yet, but the few songs I have heard really impressed me which earned them a spot on this list! 

31 Albums From 2013: Day 8

Protest The Hero's latest album 'Volition' has made a big impression on the metal scene this year. It certainly didn't hurt that Chris Adler of Lamb Of God tracked all the drums! The musicianship of the whole album is really top notch and would be a lot higher on my list but the borderline 80's vocal style really isn't my thing which prevents me from completely getting into it. 

31 Albums From 2013: Day 7

Bear is a new addition to the Basick Records lineup and their album 'Noumenon' fits right in to the progressive yet aggressive vibe the label is famous for promoting. The best way I can describe Bear's sound would be to say they are a less chaotic Dillinger with a Djent undertone. I don't even know what I just said there! Listen and bang your heads!

31 Albums From 2013: Day 6

The Dillinger Escape Plan is a band that I have a ton of respect for. Their sound is completely their own and each member is extremely talented. One word that I can use to describe their style would be "harsh", which requires me to really be in the mood to listen to these guys. I haven't honestly given this album a fair chance as I haven't been in that mood, but from what I have listened to, they seemed to have kept their core sound while adding in a bit more melody, like in the title track "One Of Us Is The Killer", which I do appreciate.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 5

I am dubbing 2013 the year of the falsetto. For some reason, a lot of bands decided to over use this singing trick and I'm not sure why. Dead Letter Circus' album 'The Catalyst Fire' would have made it a lot higher on my list if it wasn't for this reason alone. The music is really good, it's almost like Karnivool light, and the singer is good when he is using his actual voice to sing. For me, falsetto is something that should be used very sparingly if at all but this singer does it in just about every song which gets to be much real fast. I suggest giving this album a listen, but in short bursts as to not get annoyed as quickly as I did.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 4

The almighty Sabbath returns with their first full length studio album with Ozzy at the helm in a long time. When I first heard about this release, I was both excited and weary. When bands reunite and write new material after many years of not, usually one of three things happen: 1. they try something new in an attempt to sound current (and almost always fail), 2. they stick with what they know and come off sounding dated, or 3. they find a happy medium between the two, which is a rarity. Unfortunately, they not only stuck with what they knew, but basically just copied themselves and wrote songs that sound very similar to other Black Sabbath songs. For people who wanted the same ole Sabbath, they certainly got it! I would have liked a little spice thrown in their, but that's just me. I was also disappointed to find out that drummer Bill Ward was not part of this recording. Brad Wilk of Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave did a good job staying within the style that Bill had created, but it still isn't the same with out him. Give it a listen, it's not bad, just nothing new.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 3

Means End is a new band to the (I hate using this term) Djent genre featuring two members who are veterans of this sound already, the ex-drummer of Uneven Structure and ex-vocalist of Vildhjarta. Even though the album does stick within the (here I go again) Djenty style, they do try to mix it up a bit by mixing in some classical elements, like in the song posted below, 'Nox Aurumque'. This song alone got them on my list and I hope as they grow as a band, their sound will as well and I look forward to hearing what's next from them.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 2

Day number two's album is one of those ideas that sound great on paper but unfortunately the final product didn't completely deliver.The biggest issue I have with it is instead of having full bands play the songs on 11 of the 13 tracks, they had various singers and guitarists perform over tracks recorded by a mystery group of musicians (I couldn't find any info on who they were) who honestly didn't do that great of a job with most of the songs. The only tunes that I found some enjoyment in are 'Black and White' sung by Sevendust frontman Lajon Witherspoon and 'Billy Jean' featuring Corey Glover of Living Colour and completely becuase of their vocals. Guitarist Bumblefoot did some great work on 'Beat It', but unfortunately the horrible vocals made the song unlistenable for me. Why the hell am I featuring this album if I'm criticizing so much? Two reasons: I at least appreciate the idea of this album as doing metal versions of MJ songs is a good one, and track 11. This song is what redeemed the whole thing for me. The band Icarus Witch (who I knew nothing about before this and after some research on them afterwards, can't say I'm normally a fan of their power metal style) did their take on 'They Don't Care About Us'. This song really is a great version of the tune and solidified my thought that each full band should have done the songs rather than a studio band. Sevendust and Living Colour would have killed the tunes that their singers did! The last song of the album is a re-recorded version of 'Smooth Criminal' by Alien Ant Farm, which I have always enjoyed, so it at least closed out the album on a high note. Overall I would say preview all the tracks and download what you like rather than get the whole album, but you may find something on here you like.

31 Albums From 2013: Day 1

I'm going to kick off my list with a double hitter from Serj Tankian! 2013 was a busy year for the System of a Down vocalist who released not one, but two albums that truly pushed boundaries for him.

The first of his releases this year was 'Orca', a 4 act symphony that was composed using "non-traditional approaches to classical music" according to Tankian. Doing a symphony wasn't a total stretch for him since he did a symphonic version of his solo album 'Elect The Dead', but to go 100% instrumental was a suprising move and I think he pulled it off well.

The second release, 'Jazz-Iz-Christ' is, according to Tankian himself, "a combination. There's some classic jazz, dance-y stuff, and progressive things. It's all over the place, but it's jazz instrument-wise. It's for a modern listener who appreciates jazz overtones." I think that about sums it up! Another great take on something I'm sure most didn't expect.

Both albums are solid releases. I haven't found myself going back to them often, but I truly respect the man for doing things his way and I hope he continues to explore other genres like he did with classical and jazz. Bring it on Serj!