Sleeping Village Reviews
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!

LOVELOTH'S Top 20 Albums of the Year

1/9/2019

0 Comments

 
Written by: Loveloth

Yes, it's time for these obligatory year-end lists where I subtly position myself as having superior taste than you mere mortals, but fear not because you will give in! Hopefully. Anyhow, I am Loveloth (of a certain Gazebo that resides in the waters of Instagram) and this is my first legit text for this wonderful thing we have going on here. It's a sign that you'll be seeing a lot more of me this year so prepare. But let's indulge in my top 20 picks of 2018 before those wretched times come.
​
See how I skillfully skipped the whole "this year was amazing for music" thing and... aw shit, well, it seems I am just like the rest of them. Onwards then!

Picture
20. IN VAIN - Currents

​
Norway's greatest prog death band return with a huge, engrossing, snappy and overall excellent record. The fact that this was released in January and still managed to grab my number 20 spot  after listening to about 340-ish records from 2018 says a lot. And having Baard Kolstad behind the kit certainly helped and I sincerely hope he sticks around. Absolutely worth your time.

Picture
19. MESSA - Feast For Water

Gonna spoil the list and say that this is the only doom record you'll find. Yes I am aware that this is not YOB's Our Raw Heart and better for it, as Feast For Water has practically no filler moments. Messa are slowly but surely carving their own niche with each new release and I couldn't be happier. Sara intoxicates with her gorgeous voice and the rest of the band provide a jazzy, submerged, subdued and dynamic (yep we're already using that word) backbone. A must for doom fans.

Picture
18. DAUGHTERS - You Won't Get What You Want

Well it seems most of us didn't get what we want. We got something that either completely caught us off guard raises hand or exceeded our every expectation. With this record, Daughters became an almost household name and a frequent guest of many a year-end lists. Anxious, decadently poetic, paranoid, bestial, it all represents that one part of us which we desperately try to subdue. Lose yourself in the hysterical abyss that is You Won't Get What You Want.

Picture
17. TOBY DRIVER - They Are The Shield

One would think Toby Driver's peak passed after so many different bands and projects, but no, you noobs, he is an unstoppable creative force and his second solo record proves this. They Are The Shield is an expansive and brilliant journey into the most ethereal and sonically pleasing waters. I'll be retaking the journey for many days to come and you should too.

Picture
16. A FOREST OF STARS - Grave Mounds & Grave Mistakes

Being unique is really hard, it's a shocker I know. But A Forest Of Stars truly do stand out. With their eccentric (and amazing in every way) Victorian aesthetic, this English septet will drag you, with or without your consent, through their bleak and decadent era with the power of psychedelic, avant-garde and progressive blend of black metal with outstanding lyrics. Your tour guide will be Mister Curse and he is quite an intense oddity so prepare accordingly. Maybe Katheryn will help you, who knows in any case have fun!

Picture
15. ERRA - Neon

It's 2018 (not anymore actually) and we have a Sumerian records band on a top 20 list on an underground review site, that's a first and don't worry, I am equally as confused. But Neon is so damn vibrant, catchy and groovy that I couldn't ignore it. I instead embraced it, and what I got is a superb progressive metalcore record filled with impressive riffs, engaging vocals and smart, creative songwriting that exploits the power of good choruses. Neon is a shot of much needed energy in a pretty sated scene.

Picture
14. OCEANS OF SLUMBER - The Banished Heart

Doomy and gloomy prog guided by a troubled yet breathtaking female voice? I'll have an hour of that please. Despite their misleading name (no oceans in Texas, come on guys) Oceans Of Slumber was on my radar since their excellent Winter that seemingly came out of nowhere. Two years passed and The Banished Heart stares directly into our souls with refreshing honesty, proudly showing its vulnerable and exposed insides. And we all have that due to (a)social media and other technological wonders and trends. Shame the record had some filler tracks such as the Wayfaring Stranger and being generally a bit bloated. Still, it's a real treat and a sign of wonderful times to come.

Picture
13. BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME - Automata I & II

I know what you're thinking, and no, it's not cheating. Let's face it, the Automatas belong together as they make this conceptual majesty whole, literally and figuratively. And I've gotta be honest, (get used to these,) I liked Coma Ecliptic a lot so I expected great stuff from these wizards, but the pressure from the others who don't share the same opinion as yours truly was real. The band absolutely delivered and released one of their greatest works to date. It's a pretty big deal if you're a BTBAM fan. With tracks like Blot and The Voice Of Trespass the quintet still manages to explore and expand like never before, and I can't wait to see how they'll follow up this behemoth.

Picture
12. SILENT PLANET - Where The End Began

I had no idea Silent Planet existed until I saw praise from my fellow Villagers (Soliloquist and Ancient Hand to be more precise). The praise is justified because Where The End Began is a lyrical masterpiece and a joy to listen to. Surprisingly complex with jazzy drumming, angular and acrobatic riffs, clear yet beefy production and those amazing vocals. Garrett Russell is a modern poet who deconstructed the whole American society with clever word play, insane amount of references and depth that is unheard of in metalcore. His actual vocal performance is excellent, his flow, range and pronunciation are all superb. Silent Planet, you definitely have my attention.   

Picture
11. IHSAHN - Ámr

I like Emperor but Ihsahn is so much of a better fit for me. Quirky, experimental and dark, Ihsahn's 7th record Ámr shares similarities with Arktis, but is overall a completely different story. Acrylic drum set, odd analog synths reminiscent of Carpenter and that flat but organic production guarantee a good time filled with memorable moments. Wake, One Less Enemy are some of Ihsahn's finest work and while it doesn't top After or Arktis, Ámr is still a proof of Ihsahn's vast creativity and will to chart unknown (and icy) waters.

Picture
10. RIVERS OF NIHIL - Where Owls Know My Name

Who? Get it? The album title is referring to owls and... oh just forget it and listen to the damn thing if you somehow didn't. Despite the just OK production, Rivers Of Nihil blast through with intense sax-laden, quarter-note chugging maelstrom that took 2018 by storm and for fine reason. It's super good fams! This is a big step up from Monarchy and I am really curious to see where this Pennsylvainian quintet leads us.

Picture
9. SUMAC - Love in Shadow

Unpopular opinion. I prefer Sumac over Isis since their superb What One Becomes, but Love In Shadow is a monumental feat that expands the band's formula. And that formula is god-tier improvisation. Led by disgusting heaviness paired with earth-shattering riffs and enough momentum to put down a charging rhinoceros, Sumac constantly challenging themselves and the listener and I love that. Long, exhausting but cathartic and purifying, Love In Shadow is a record whose density and scope will drag you back to it only to expunge you after draining all your energy.

Picture
8. ALKALOID - Liquid Anatomy

This record rose up like the cephalopods it prophesies as one of 2018's finest. Bursting with degenerate charm, this ode to my mighty cosmic masters (I am Loveloth after all) is one I will always return to. It has everything, the riffs are mind-boggling complex exercises, the lyrics zany and extremely clever, the vocals unsettlingly familiar, the drums astounding, that's what you get when you put five German wunderkinds and geniuses in one room and let them jam and talk about Lovecraft, science and metaphysics. Bravo chaps, my overlords are pleased.

Picture
7. SLUGDGE - Esoteric Malacology

You know what my overlords found more pleasing? Slugdge's latest attempt of summoning the slimey Greatfather, of course. This very record is the definition of justified hype, and these two potential servants named Matt Moss and Kev Pearson created one of the most engaging prog hybrids in a very long time. Now I only need to convince them that we should unite our religions into one vast, cosmic organization that will ensure the future of...oh, sorry, got off track there for a second. Proceed.

Picture
6. DEAFHEAVEN - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

The greatest foe of trve kvltists hath returned with their most subdued, complete, and least metallic offering yet, and it's breathtaking. Deafheaven always manage to make me feel fuzzy inside whilst going insane. Whatever your stance on the band, this deserves your attention, it's truly fresh and the San Fran quintet continue to be a trailblazer and a great influence to upcoming bands. Be brave, explore and ignore naysayers because if you truly got it, who knows, maybe you'll create something unheard of and that's what propels art forward.

Picture
5. TESSERACT - Sonder

Meet my most listened to band in 2018. That's right, it's djent time and Tesseract's Sonder is a brilliant, albeit short culmination of all their previous phases. Abrasive, vast, insanely groovy, complex, ambient and soaring release that shows a band pushing themselves whilst completely retaining their core sound. Be it the absolutely breathtaking Juno or goosebump inducing scope of Beneath My Skin or Mirror Image, Sonder will never leave rotation (especially because of its godly production), same as every Tesseract record. I just need more.

Picture
4. ROLO TOMASSI - Time Will Die And Love Bury It

Where did the hell did this come from? If you're like me, you'll feel the same way after experiencing Time Will Die And Love Bury It which is Rolo Tomassi's breakthrough and overall fifth release that ups the antee on every front. Eva Spence's voice is equally as formidable as it is soothing, the instrumentation is amazing as it walks the thin line between unbelievably aggressive and unbelievably chill. Tracks like The Hollow Hour, Rituals, A Flood Of Light, or basically any other stick and continue to get under your skin, at least this occurred with your boi. This was my AotY for a while and as we near the end of our list, the smallest details dictated what record sits on what spot

Picture
3. THE OCEAN - Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic

I am a big paleontology nerd, and having a brilliant post-metal act such as The Ocean consistently deliver gold is nothing short of outstanding. Massive, vibrant and unbelievably clever with its usage of words and motifs, Palaeozoic soared above virtually every other release. You'll get my sentiment after Permian: The Great Dying abruptly ends. The bar has been set unbelievably high and I am pretty confident the band will follow up accordingly. All hail The Ocean.

Picture
2. VOLA - Applause of a Distant Crowd

Vola was one of those year-defining bands for me and Applause cemented that love. Just as with The Contortionist's Clairvoyant in 2017, Vola brought a breath of fresh air to an ironically formulaic scene. Too many prog bands sound alike and play it safe but these Danes decided to almost entirely drop the Meshuggah worship (that I am a fan of) that was plentiful on Inmazes and gaze towards pop, electronica, ambient and industrial. What we got is a wonderful, fresh, lush sonic curtain that completely surrounds you. Ruby Pool, We Are Thin Air, and the title track are among the most beautiful and warm pieces of music I heard last year. Then you have stuff like Smartfriend or Whaler which show the more "ugly" and discordant side of the band we grew accustomed to on their previous releases. Must hear, in my Necronomicon-looking book.

Picture
1. BLACK PEAKS - All That Divides

Here it is, the album I felt was the most complete and the closest thing to a masterpiece 2018 had to offer. I expected seeing Black Peaks somewhere on my list but definitely not as my number one pick and I am even happier for it. All That Divides is a sound of true, unadulterated passion that the band unleashes upon the listener. This isn't the only thing that makes this record so brilliant of course. Each song is brimming with well executed ideas, the instrumentation is impressive, the vocals superb and the whole package outstanding with no filler in sight. Imagine if you had the best parts of Crack The Skye era Mastodon, the hysteria and calculated aggression of Dillinger, Mars Volta's unhingedness, the flow of Oceansize and sprinkle in a tad of Deftones for good measure. Yes I mentioned a lot of bands but Black Peaks came to a point where their sound is their own. There is no doubt in my mind that these guys are here to stay and continue to make waves with each passing release. World, it's time to meet your new masters, apart from me of course. Now on to 2019!

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome!

    We provide thoughtful reviews of music that is heavy, gloomy...and loud enough to wake us from slumber. Written by a highfalutin peasantry!


    What are ye
    ​ 
    looking for?

    All
    2020
    420
    Acoustic
    Adam Paris
    Albums Of The Decade
    Albums Of The Year
    Alex Bringer Of Payne
    Alternative
    Alternative Metal
    Alternative Rock
    Alt Metal
    Alt Rock
    Ambient
    Ambient Metal
    Americana
    Ancienthand
    Ancient Hand
    Anti-imperialist
    AOR
    Aoty
    Apocalypse
    Art Rock
    Arzou
    Atmoblack
    Atmospheric
    Atmospheric Black Metal
    Atmospheric Doom
    Avant Garde
    Avant-garde
    Avant Garde Black Metal
    Avant Garde Death Metal
    Ballad
    Band Merch
    Bane Ov Silence
    Baroque Metal
    Beaston Lane
    Beatdown
    Bestial
    Best Of The Year 2018
    Blackened
    Blackened Crust
    Blackened Death
    Blackened Deathcore
    Blackened Death Metal
    Blackened Doom
    Blackened Grind
    Blackened Metal
    Blackened Punk
    Blackened Sludge
    Blackened Thrash
    Blackgaze
    Blackie Skulless
    Black Metal
    Black N Roll
    Black Thrash
    Blastbeasts
    Blastbeats
    Blood Metal
    Blues
    Blues Metal
    Blues Rock
    Breakcore
    Breakdown
    British Metal
    Brutal
    Brutal Death Metal
    Cantina
    Captain's Chronicles
    Captains Chronicles
    Capt Graves
    Carlos
    Cavern Death Metal
    Chaotic Death Metal
    Chaotic Hardcore
    Chaotic Metal
    Chinese Metal
    Chiptune
    Christian Metal
    Classic Albums
    Classical Crossover
    Classic Doom
    Classic Metal
    Classic Rock
    Comic
    Community Favorites
    Compilation
    Continuous Thunder
    Core
    Cosmic
    Cosmic Death Metal
    Country
    Cover Songs
    Crossover
    Crossover Thrash
    Crust
    Crust Punk
    Cyberpunk
    Dark Ambient
    Dark Metal
    Dark Pop
    Dark Rock
    Dbeat
    D-beat
    Deathcore
    Death Doom
    Death-doom
    Deathgrind
    Death Metal
    Death Thrash
    Debut Album
    Demo
    Depressive Black Metal
    Desert Rock
    Digital Hardcore
    Disco
    Dissonant
    Dissonant Black Metal
    Djent
    Doom
    Doom Death
    Doomgaze
    Doom Metal
    Doom Punk
    Doomviolence
    Double Review
    Dreampop
    Dream Pop
    Drone
    Dsbm
    Dungeons And Dragons
    Dungeon Synth
    Dungeon Synth Sunday
    Ecological
    Editorial
    Edm
    Electronic
    Electronic Rock
    Emo
    EP
    Epic Doom
    Epic Heavy Metal
    Epic Metal
    EP's
    Experimental
    Experimental Black Metal
    Experimental Electronic
    Extreme Metal
    Fantasy
    Favorite Music
    Finnish Metal
    Florida Death
    Folk
    Folk Black Metal
    Folk Metal
    Folk Rock
    Free Jazz
    Fresh Meat Friday
    Funeral Doom
    Fuzz
    Garage Rock
    German Heavy Metal
    Glam Metal
    Glam Rock
    Gore
    Goregrind
    Goth
    Gothic
    Gothic Metal
    Goth Metal
    Goth Rock
    Grind
    Grindcore
    Groove Metal
    Grunge
    Guest Post
    Guest Review
    Hair Metal
    Hallucinatory Black Death Metal
    Hardcore
    Hardcore Doom
    Hardcore Punk
    Hardcore Sludge
    Hard Rock
    Heavy Grinder
    Heavy Metal
    Heavy Psych
    Heavy Rock
    Hip Hip
    Hip Hop
    Horror
    Hxc
    Icelandic
    Immigrant Core
    Immigrind
    Indie
    Indie Rock
    Indonesia
    Industrial
    Industrial Metal
    Industrial Rock
    Instrumental
    Italian Metal
    Izzy
    Japanese Metal
    Jazz
    Legends
    Lichtmensch
    Lord Hsrah
    Lovecraft
    Loveloth
    Lunar Fanatic
    Mathcore
    Mathgrind
    Math Rock
    Melodeath
    Melodic Black Metal
    Melodic Death Metal
    Melodic Doom
    Melodic Metal
    Memorial
    Merch
    Metal
    Metalcore
    Metalhead World
    Metallic Hardcore
    METAL MENAGERIE
    Metal Reivews
    Metalreviews
    Metal Reviews
    Mid Year List
    Mid-year List
    Miscellaneous
    Modern Rock
    Murder Metal
    Music Review
    Music Video
    Mystic
    Negative Reviews
    Neofolk
    Nerdy
    New Age
    New Music
    Nintendocore
    Noise
    Noise Rock
    Nu Metal
    NWOBHM
    NWOTHM
    Occult
    Occult Rock
    Old School Death Metal
    OSDM
    Ozzy Osbourne
    Pagan Metal
    Peasantrys Picks
    Pirate Metal
    Pop
    Pop Metal
    Pop Punk
    Pop Rock
    Portal
    Post-black
    Post Black Metal
    Post-black Metal
    Post-classical
    Post Doom
    Post-doom
    Post-genre
    Post Hardcore
    Post-hardcore
    Post Metal
    Post-metal
    Post Punk
    Post-punk
    Post Rock
    Post-rock
    Post Sludge
    Post-sludge
    Power Electronics
    Power Metal
    Powerviolence
    Prehistoric
    Preorder
    Prog Metal
    Progressive Black Metal
    Progressive Death Metal
    Progressive Metal
    Progressive Rock
    Prog Rock
    Psychedelic
    Psych Rock
    Punk
    Punk Rock
    Raw Black Metal
    Raw Sludge
    Record Label
    Reese
    Reissue
    Relaxing
    Release Day Roundup
    Remix
    Re-recording
    Retro Rock
    Retrospective Review
    Review Off
    Review Redux
    Reviews
    Riffs
    Rock
    Rock N Roll
    Roots Rock
    Sabbath
    Sabbath Sunday
    Sadboi
    Saxophone
    Sci Fi
    Sci-fi
    Scorpi
    Screamo
    Shane Thirteen
    Shoegaze
    Short Reviews
    Singer-songwriter
    Ska
    Skramz
    Slam
    Sleeping Village Records
    Sleeping Village Sampler
    Slipknot
    Sludge
    Sludge Metal
    Soliloquist
    Solo Act
    Sound Design
    Soundtrack
    South America
    Southern Rock
    Space
    Space Rock
    Speed Metal
    Split
    Star Wars
    Statement Of Intent
    Stenchcore
    Stoner
    Stoner Doom
    Stoner Metal
    Stoner Rock
    Story Review
    Stream
    Surf Rock
    Swedeath
    Swedish Death Metal
    Symphonic Metal
    Synth
    Synth Metal
    Synthpop
    Synthwave
    Talesofdeception
    Techdeath
    Tech Death
    Technical Death Metal
    Texas
    The Administrator
    The Dungeon Awaits
    The Voiceless Apparation
    Thevoicelessapparition
    The Voiceless Apparition
    The Voiceless Appartition
    Thrash
    Thrashcore
    Thrash Metal
    Threefoldtreatise
    Tom
    Torture Doom
    Track-premiere
    Track Review
    Track Reviews
    Trad Doom
    Traditional Doom
    Traditional Metal
    Trad Metal
    Tribute Album
    True Doom
    Trve Doom
    Underground
    Usbm
    Vaporwave
    Vattghern
    Visual Review
    Volt Thrower
    War Metal
    Weird
    Zombie

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • REVIEWS & PREMIERES
  • ARCHIVES
    • OLDE REVIEWS
    • OLDE INTERVIEWS
    • OLDE FEATURES
    • OLDE PREMIERES
  • SUBMIT FOR REVIEW!