Yearlist 00s:

Eighties //Nineties //90919293949596979899 //[Nihils] //00010203040506070809 //TwentyTens //10111213141516171819 //Twenties //2021222324 //All_Time
 
Nocte Obducta
Nektar - Teil 2: Seen, Flüsse, Tagebücher
Score: 10/10
 
My Dying Bride - The Dreadful Hours
Score: 10/10
Usually when listening to a new My Dying Bride album first I hate it, then I have to listen to it some more, and then I get completely addicted to it. This album wasn't so, I think the style here is so similar to The Light... that there was nothing I had to get used to, I just liked it from the first time I heard it. I guess I'm also a bit disappointed by this, that there are no big surprises style-wise, just more of the same. Though after quite some listens I did discover more and more beautiful things in it. Well, the title track is just great, the "filie..." song is quite unlike anything they've ever done and after some months "The deepest of all hearts" also sounds better everytime I hear it. "Then return to the beautiful" is of course a remake of "The return of the beautiful" from their debut album. It sounds a bit different, not better nor worse, but I do think it's a shame they didn't make it differ more from the original, like the two "Sear Me" remakes. Ah well, still it's just another masterpiece of the gods of doom...
 
Moonsorrow
Verisäkeet

Score: 10/10
 
Novembers Doom
The Knowing

Score: 10/10
 
Mourning Beloveth
The Sullen Sulcus

Score: 10/10
 
Novembers Doom
To Welcome the Fade

Score: 10/10
 
Abyssic Hate
Suicidal Emotions
Score: 10/10
 
The Provenance
How Would You Like To Be Spat At
Score: 10/10
 
Sear Bliss - Forsaken Symphony
Score: 10/10
Again there's been changes in the line-up of Sear Bliss since the last cd, but this time the original guitar player Csaba Csejtei is back in the band. I guess his influence in the band is pretty big because this album sounds a lot more like their debut Phantoms again. More black metal with a much rawer sound than their Grand Destiny album. I think this is the perfect sounding Sear Bliss album. Raw yet very melodic, with the nice brass instruments from Grand Destination. Also in addition to the usual great Kris Verwimp coverart, the inner booklet now looks even better due to Flynn's art.
 
Deinonychus
Insomnia

Score: 10/10
 
Agalloch
The Mantle
Score: 10/10
 
Rotting Christ
Khronos

Score: 10/10
 
Darkestrah
The Great Silk Road
Score: 10/10
 
Dark Lunacy
Devoid
Score: 10/10
 
Daylight Dies
No Reply
Score: 10/10
 
My Dying Bride - The Voice of the Wretched
Score: 10/10
Yes, after the two greatest-hits albums this is the My Dying Bride live-album. A chance to hear how My Dying Bride sounds live for all the people who couldn't be at one of their concerts (and who don't have the live bonusdisc from the Angel and the Dark River). Personally I'm not too fond of live albums, but this one has good songs (old and new), a good sound quality, it has a very nice design, and what makes this album a little extra special for me is that I was at the concert where it was recorded. So I guess this is nice to have, but I'm also glad that the compilation and live albums are all done now so My Dying Bride can concentrate on making new albums again...
 
My Dying Bride - An Ode To Woe
Score: 10/10
I know I'm probably quite spoiled to be able to say I attended the concert where this was recorded as well. (the Paradiso is less than 10km from my house) - So for people who are not able to go to one of their concerts so easily this is a great option to see one of My Dying Bride's majestic live performances. Also this is a nice release to see the new member Lena in action. Despite all that, if you're keeping count this is the third live cd and third live dvd My Dying Bride have released, and with the previous live dvd released a mere three years ago, one can't help but get the feeling Peaceville is trying to sell as much compilations and live albums as possible. While the quality of the recordings are excellent, there's not much here we haven't seen before. If you're interested in a live dvd, I'd rather recommend getting Sinamorata or For Darkest Eyes. If you have those already, I think you can safely skip this one actually...
 
Asgaroth
Red Shift

Score: 10/10
 
Secrets Of The Moon
Privilegivm
Score: 10/10
 
Opera IX - The Black Opera: Symphoniae Mysteriorum in Laudem Tenebrarum
Score: 10/10
Opera IX is always pure enjoyment for me. Their typically melodic black style with the female grunts of Cadaveria sound as good as ever on this third cd. I think their sound and technique progressed since the last album, but on the down side, they haven't changed much other than that. It would be better if it was a little more original, but still it sounds great, and for me it's the best album this year so far...
 
21Emperor
Live Inferno

Score: 10/10
 
Primordial
Spirit the Earth Aflame

Score: 10/10
22
 
23Alastis
Unity
Score: 10/10
 
Rapture - Futile
Score: 10/10
Mostly when I get to hear the debut cd of a new band I think "nice, but it's all done before much better" or "Maybe with some more practice and experience they'll get there", but every once in a while I get the pleasant surprise of a debutcd that immediately impresses me. "Futile" by Rapture is one of these gems. They play a melodic doom death a bit in the vein of old Katatonia / Opeth, but definitely have their own sound. The compositions and atmosphere on the album is amazing, with a sadness that appeals a lot to a doom metal fanatic like me. So another band I can add to my list of all-time favourites.
24
 
25Septic Flesh
Sumerian Daemons

Score: 10/10
 
Moonspell
Under Satanæ
Score: 10/10
26
 
27Forest Silence
Philosophy Of Winter
Score: 10/10
 
Mourning Beloveth
A Disease for the Ages

Score: 10/10
28
 
29Primordial
The Gathering Wilderness

Score: 10/10
 
Green Carnation
Journey to the End of the Night
Score: 10/10
30
 
31My Dying Bride - Songs of Darkness, Words of Light
Score: 10/10
After three years of waiting here's the new My Dying Bride cd again. I listened to The Dreadful Hours thousands of times already so I was really glad I could finally listen to something new again. The two things that really stand out on this album I think are the better use of keyboards (I guess they are finally using keys as a full instrument instead as a replacement-violin) and the improved clean vocals of Aaron. He still growls and screams a lot but the clean singing really impressed me here. On the downside, I just don't think there are enough 'masterpieces' on this album. The songs are good but the only one that really stands out is "A Doomed Lover". The songs "The Blue Lotus" and "And My Fury Stands Ready" are even quite boring I think. Maybe after I listen to it more I grow to like it more (as is usually the case with MDB cds) but right now I think the cd is good, but a bit below bride-standard. The artwork is a bit of a letdown too I think. I like the cover painting, but other than that there's not much to look at. I got the special edition of the cd which include a fridge-magnet and a poster, but both also just show the cover painting.
 
Forest Stream
Tears of Mortal Solitude
Score: 10/10
32
 
33Summoning
Oath Bound

Score: 10/10
 
Secrets Of The Moon
Antithesis

Score: 10/10
34
 
35Moonsorrow
Tulimyrsky EP

Score: 10/10
 
Various
Originators of the Northern Darkness - A Tribute to Mayhem
Score: 10/10
36
 
37Primordial
To The Nameless Dead

Score: 10/10
 
Opeth - Blackwater Park
Score: 10/10
And again Opeth manages to surprise me. Still Life kind of disappointed me, and if their sound developed furter in the direction they were going with that album it could actually become quite bad. But no, this albums seems to take a big step back to Morningrise. Beautiful long song stuffed full with melodies, emotions and lots of variation. It's also got a bit of 'the songs just go on and on' feeling which makes it for me not as good as My Arms... yet still a great album, one of the best this year!!!
38
 
39Novembre
Materia
Score: 10/10
 
Various
December Songs: A Tribute To Katatonia
Score: 10/10
40
 
41Lacrimas Profundere
Burning: a Wish
Score: 10/10
 
Shape Of Despair
Angels of Distress
Score: 10/10
42
 
43The Project Hate MCMXCIX
Armageddon March Eternal - Symphonies of Slit Wrists
Score: 10/10
 
Colosseum
Chapter 1: Delirium
Score: 10/10
44
 
45Opeth
The Roundhouse Tapes

Score: 10/10
 
Type O Negative
Dead Again

Score: 10/10
46
 
47My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings
Score: 10/10
After the somewhat odd 'Deeper Down' single it was a relief to hear that My Dying Bride hadn't gone all Thrash Metal on us. A Line of Deathless Kings hold like always the emotion doom metal My Dying Bride is famous for, and like always it sounds completely different than their other releases. One obvious thing is the vocal, which is completely clean again. The songs are also a bit more compact, making it a bit like "Like Gods of the Sun". But with an atmosphere closer to "Songs of Darkness, Words of Light". What I don't like so much about this album is that the 'trick' they sometimes use to combine two different songs into one, gets done a lot here actually. Most of the songs are made of two obviously different parts, and often I only like one of the two parts. The only two songs which I like completely are L'Amour Detruit and One of Beauty's Daughters. So overall I think it's a cd with a few good moments but again a bit less good than the previous one. And the last minutes remind me of the ending of the blob where you just see that there will be a sequel ;)
 
The Sins Of Thy Beloved
Perpetual Desolation

Score: 10/10
48
 
49Forest Of Shadows
Departure
Score: 10/10
 
Ankhagram
Under Ruins
Score: 10/10
50
 
51My Dying Bride - For Lies I Sire
Score: 10/10
As a big fan of My Dying Bride, I'm wondering with each new album whether I'll like it as much as their previous albums, or if they'll finally mess up. And their latest work "For Lies I Sire" again does not disappoint. There have been some line-up changes again since "A Line of Deathless Kings": Dan Mullins is the new drummer, Lena Abè took over the bass from Ade and Katie Stone plays the keyboard and violin on this album... yes, violin. Many an old-school fan will rejoice in the news of its return. And it's used very effectively on this album. The violin is not just added in everywhere, but used quite sparsely in combination with the keyboards. Even my least favourite song on this album "Bring me victory", which is the most commercial sounding song, has some quite cool violin parts making it sound nice. But there we also have the biggest flaw of this album: All songs sound nice, quite easy to the ear. What is missing to me is the more extreme emotional outbursts. No song drags me in with its depressive or aggressive emotions as My Dying Bride often does. It also holds for my most favourite song of the album, Death triumphant. With the long running time it has the potential of one of their old-fashioned epic songs, but it never gets quite interesting enough for that. Even the most extreme song of the album, A chapter in loathing, which follows up on the fast outro of the last albums with a Primordial-like layered guitar riff and the only grunts of this album, feels weirdly out of place on the album. Overall it's by no means a bad album, quite nice to listen to actually, but that's not why I listen to My Dying Bride. Who knows, with all the beautiful girls in the band now, maybe they're not depressed enough anymore to write typical My Dying Bride songs ;)
 
Saturnus
Veronika Decides To Die

Score: 10/10
52
 
53Green Carnation
Light of Day, Day of Darkness
Score: 10/10
 
Austere / Isolation
Bleak...

Score: 10/10
54
 
55Disbelief
66Sick

Score: 10/10
 
Fen
The Malediction Fields

Score: 10/10
56
 
57Amortis
Summoned by Astral Fires
Score: 10/10
 
Shape Of Despair
Shades of...
Score: 10/10
58
 
59Novembers Doom
The Pale Haunt Departure
Score: 10/10
 
Negură Bunget
Măiastru Sfetnic

Score: 10/10
60
 
61Moonsorrow
V: Hävitetty

Score: 10/10
 
Virgin Black
Requiem - Fortissimo
Score: 10/10
62
 
63Various
The Lotus Eaters - Tribute to Dead Can Dance
Score: 10/10
 
My Shameful
...Of Dust
Score: 10/10
64
 
65Gojira
From Mars to Sirius
Score: 10/10
 
Amon Amarth
Versus the World

Score: 10/10
66
 
67Traumatic Voyage
Khiaoscuro
Score: 10/10
 
Trail Of Tears
A New Dimension of Might
Score: 10/10
68
 
69Satyricon
Volcano

Score: 10/10
 
Graveworm
Scourge of Malice

Score: 10/10
70
 
71Garden Of Shadows
Oracle Moon
Score: 10/10
 
Swallow The Sun
New Moon
Score: 10/10
72
 
73Negură Bunget
'N Crugu Bradului

Score: 10/10
 
Morgul - The Horror Grandeur
Score: 10/10
Hmmm... I guess this is what I'd call neo-black. So many black metal nowadays that some bands from the black metal roots try something new. Morgul always was a bit different, but with this album he definitely made something different enough to stay original but still (black) metal enough to stay interesting. Lots of keyboards, acoustic guitars and clean vocals make it lean more towards doom and industial metal, but the black metal is still very much present in his sound. Very much recommended...
74
 
75Daylight Dies
Dismantling Devotion

Score: 10/10
 
Primordial
Storm Before Calm

Score: 10/10
76
 
77Wolves In The Throne Room
Demo

Score: 10/10
 
Thyrfing
Hels Vite

Score: 10/10
78
 
79Shining
V: Halmstad

Score: 10/10
 
Nocte Obducta
Nektar - Teil 1: Zwölf Monde, eine Hand voll Träume
Score: 10/10
80
 
81Monolithe
Monolithe I

Score: 10/10
 
Novembre
Dreams D'Azur

Score: 10/10
82
 
83Myriads
Introspection
Score: 10/10
 
The Provenance
Red Flags
Score: 10/10
84
 
85Hollenthon - With Vilest of Worms to Dwell
Score: 10/10
Aaah it's nice to hear something original agin in this time where everything in metal has been done a million times before. Hollenthon is of course the band led by Pungent Stench's frontman Martin Schirenc, and in this band the death metal is much more melodic and slower and filled with choirs, keyboards and other instruments. It reminds maybe of Therion's "Theli" but still a bit more death metal oriented. I think this album is as good as the previous album in terms of originality but that with its better songwriting and production it's one of the best albums of this year!
 
Gathering Of Obscurity
The Pain of Humiliation
Score: 10/10
86
 
87Zyklon
Aeon
Score: 10/10
 
Wyrd
Heathen

Score: 10/10
88
 
89Eïs
Galeere (as Geïst)

Score: 10/10
 
Aeba
Rebellion: Edens Asche
Score: 10/10
90
 
91The Provenance
Still at Arms Length
Score: 10/10
 
Monolithe
Monolithe II

Score: 10/10
92
 
93Wolves In The Throne Room
Black Cascade

Score: 10/10
 
The Vision Bleak
The Deathship has a New Captain

Score: 10/10
94
 
95Kampfar
Kvass
Score: 10/10
 
Sorg
Enigma Grotesque
Score: 10/10
96
 
97Emancer
Invisible
Score: 10/10
 
Stone Wings
Promo
Score: 10/10
98
 
99Otkroveniya Dozhdya
Otkroveniya Dozhdya (Revelations of Rain)
Score: 10/10
 
...And Oceans
Allotropic / Metamorphic - Genesis of Dimorphism

Score: 10/10
100


Stats generated at: 03/05/24

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