THE SHORT LIST (OR: VINCE’S PICKS FOR THE TOP 21 ALBUMS OF 2008, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
Monday, December 1st, 2008 at 1:52pm by Vince Neilstein
2008 has been a fucking great year for metal, and in due time — Monday, Dec. 15, to be exact — Axl, myself and the rest of the writers of MetalSucks will all release our Top 10 year-end lists so you can incessantly argue over which great album was left off or tell us we’re assholes for ranking a certain album higher than it should’ve been.
But for now, ya’ll can argue about something else: here’s my personal short/working list for said year-end list containing all of my favorite metal releases from this year as well as a few that aren’t likely to make my own list but will surely be appearing on others’. Feel free to pipe in with your thoughts or to notify us of any egregious omissions before we put together our final, ordered lists. Regardless, it is going to be really fucking hard to pick just 10 of these and put them in order of awesomeness.
And, my favorite metal records of 2008 in no particular order are…
Made Out of Babies – The Ruiner
Torche – Meanderthal
Arsis – We Are the Nightmare
Protest the Hero – Fortress
Byzantine – Oblivion Beckons
Textures – Silhouettes
Scar Symmetry – Holographic Universe
After the Burial – Rareform
Gojira – The Way of All Flesh
Metallica – Death Magnetic
Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy
Shinedown – The Sound of Madness
Meshuggah – Obzen
Trivium – Shogun
Enslaved – Vertebrae
Nachtmystium – Assassins: Black Meddle Pt. 1
The Faceless – Planetary Duality
Opeth – Watershed
Eluveitie – Slania
Genghis Tron – Board Up the House
Cynic – Traced In Air
Psycroptic – Ob(servant)
[LATE ADDS: OK, I left off the new Intronaut and All Shall Perish records, so I'm posthumously adding those in. You guys can shut up now. -Ed.]
wow good list. i havent listened to half of these…but shinedown is on the list.. NICE that cd is epic and the live show is a kick in the pants!
Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of Coward and Trophy, but Ruiner didn’t grab me by the short hairs like it seems to have everyone else…
You can’t ever really go wrong with Byzantine, Arsis, and Genghis Tron either. I was thinking of my own list for 2008 and came up with the result that 2008 kinda sucked. My other Tops or winners of Categories That Shall Not Be Named are Guns N’ Roses for finally coming out with Chinese Democracy and giving me a brief feeling it was like to hear Appetite and the Illusions back in the day, and Nine Inch Nails for actually doing something about ’sticking it to the man’ (and making an obscene amount of money) with Ghosts and The Slip.
Missing Coffins – Buried Death, other than that, Arsis and Enslaved are top 5.
Genghis Tron, fucking win.
Okay, so I am personally offended that Amon Amarth isn’t on there. Twilight Of The Thunder God has been spinning on my iPod more then any other CD since September. Its an amazing disc. What. The. Fuck. I’m revoking any scoobie snacks I was going to give you.
I know it just came out, but Dichotomy by Becoming the Archetype freakin’ slays!!!!!! Their lyrics may be very faith based, but c’mon, you cannot deny it is a great record through and through!
The Showdown is another contender as well as Bleeding Through! They were not mentioned, but then again for some reason a lot of folks happen to have a lot of hate for this group.
You missed two of the most important! “Midheaven” by The Human Abstract and “Rise of Agartha” by The Hollow Earth Theory!
@ Aaron: Although I havent listened to Midheaven in it’s entirety, I can tell you that AJ was and is a much better guitarist than Andrew Tapley. The songs that I have heard of the album were somewhat of a let down.
Personally Fortress takes the cake for me.
That list actually kinda sucks, Wheres fucking whitechapel and all shall perish and why the fuck is shinedown and guns and roses on there thats supa dupa faggy
Is this Ziltiod?
Dude! What about the new Intronaut!? For all you guys hype them (and give the frontman a blog!), you should include Prehistoricisms!
You guys forgot Amon Amarth and the greatest album of this year…
BLOODBATH – THE FATHOMLESS MASTERY
…nothing else comes close!
You hit all the albums on my mind
Qualifiers of the list composed:
Arsis – We Are the Nightmare (Great album and technical as hell)
Eluveitie – Slania (FOLK METAL!!!)
Trivium – Shogun (Yeah so what, I don’t care if teenage girls like it, it’s still freakin’ good)
Guns n’ Roses – Chinese Democracy (Surprisingly worth the wait, great album, and made Dr. Pepper taste even better)
Meshuggah – Obzen (If its Meshuggah, its awesome)
Gojira – The Way of All Flesh (The only good thing coming from France)
It’ll be interesting to see the 2009 list with all the “new wave of american heavy metal” albums coming out.
@mtlhead: I completley forgot about All Shall Perish’ new CD Awaken the Dreamers. That CD is epic.
My most played and most enjoyed disc this year was easily Soilent Green – Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction. There’s really nothing quite like the band, and the disc is them playing at their best with the coolest riffs. I’m hoping it shows up on someones list.
Fuck yeah soilent green i forgot about that one!
Yes, attackmole, yes.
Anyone saying ’supa dupa faggy’ must be a closet britney spears fan.
I think it’s Ziltiod…
Dude it was a joke and your name is cisco i wouldnt talk.
I havent listened to all of those albums yet…but i will. The list is pretty solid. I definitely agree that Bloodbath has a place in there though. Their new album is really good. I’m really feeling the new Benea Reach stuff too. arsis, protest, after the burial, the faceless, textures and meshuggah all put out huge albums.
rofl @ trivium and protest the hero being on your list but excluding metallica
That Withered record is pretty marvelous as well–it keeps growing on me. Pretty sternum-rattling.
Fuck yes. Arsis, Trivium, The Faceless and Scar Symmetry all got my vote for the year.
@ Johnny Ringo: I am not ‘rofling’ at all. The new Metallica CD eats dog shit.
However on the other hand the new PTH album stomps on babies.
@mtlhead: Yea, my name is Cisco, and I think I’ll talk plenty. By the way, how’s that new Britney Spears?
These are my contenders, check them out if you have not yet:
Amon Amarth – Twilight of the Thunder God
Arsis – We Are the Nightmare
Ayreon – 01011001
Bloodbath – The Fathomless Mastery
Burst – Lazarus Bird
Canvas Solaris – The Atomized Dream
Catamenia – The Time Unchained
Cynic – Traced in Air
Darkane – Demonic Art
Darkspace – Darkspace III
Daylight Dies – Lost to the Living
Draconian – Turning Season Within
Equilibrium – Sagas
Evergrey – Torn
The Faceless – Planetary Duality
Gojira – The Way of All Flesh
Into Eternity – The Incurable Tragedy
Isole – Bliss of Solitude
Jeff Loomis – Zero Order Phase
Kalmah – For the Revolution
Mirrorthrone – Gangrene
Opeth – Watershed
Scar Symmetry – Holographic Universe
Sculptured – Embodiment
Testament – The Formation of Damnation
Wow i really must have struck a chord who do you got the raging boner for shinedown or gnr?
Either way your a fucking closet boy toucher.
Cult of Luna, Arsis, Opeth, Bloodbath, Testament, Hail of Bullets, Krallice, Cursed, and Amon Amarth were my favorite releases this year.
And the Cynic album. Can’t forget that one.
no bullet for my valentine!??
Every album that came out this year combined wouldn’t match Protest’s awesomeness. Just give Fortress a spin and realize no other album ever needs to be made…unless it’s by PTH.
(Ob)servant! What an excellent album!
Who the fuck is Ed to tell us to shut up?
Well, even if there are no traces of this record on this site I’m still in love with “When Midnight Strikes!” by the italian band Stigma, great example of modern melodic death!
ill say the same as i did for axl’s
i only like 1 in that entire list which is chinese democracy
my top 3 of 2008 is:
1. the scarecrow by avantasia
2. tinnitus sanctus by edguy
3. black ice by ac/dc
This list is great. It’s got most of my faves – Scar Symmetry, Faceless, All Shall Perish, Cynic, Opeth, Meshuggah, Gojira, Textures, Nachtmystium. I would have added Intronaut however.
fuck ya nice picks, especially after the burial. Rareform is so goooood
THANK YOU FOR PUTTING SHINEDOWN ON.
I know they arent metal but they do not get nearly enough attention for how good they are and the good shows they put on
Not a bad list at all (with the exception of Guns and Roses and Trivium!) only couple I would add to that would be
Burst – Lazarus Bird
Benea Reach – Alleviat
All in all a pretty good year for metal!
Protest The Hero – Fortress Gets my number #1 Vote.
I am so glad The Human Abstract did not end up on your list Vince. Smack Axl, that album was horrid.
I am surprised by Guns N’ Roses on both lists. Not what I was expecting, maybe I will give it a listen.
Yes, Midheaven was terrible after a phenomenal debut like Nocturne. Even if I wasn’t comparing the two, I would still think Midheaven is a piece of shit. Fortress gets my vote for number one as well.
HAIL OF FUCKIN’ BULLETS!
and also, you’re missing
Becoming The Archetype-Dichotomy
Benea Reach-Alleviat
Deeds of Flesh-Of What’s To Come
Severed Savior-Servile Insurrection
Hour of Penance-The Vile Conception
Decrepit Birth-Diminishing Between Worlds
Human Mincer-Degradation Paradox
Trenches-The Tide Will Swallow Us Whole
faggots
What the hell?
Did you delete my comment?
nevermind it just took forever to actually show up
I forgot about All Shall Perish! AMAZING album. Just saw them live with Hate Eternal and they were awesome. Easily a qualilfier for metal album of the year. Can’t believe it didn’t make it on these lists…maybe they forgot…
Unearth’s new cd ain’t that bad either, but nothing compared to their last.
What about Misery Signals – Controller? It was by far the best album out this year. Amon Amarth definitely belongs up there too.
I completely agree with you Controller was my favorite album of 08 hands down.Another really over looked album was Monuments from the band This Or The Apocalypse.Those were probably the only 2 worthwhile Metalcore records this year.
I am only missing 8 albums on this list. I liked Genghis Tron’s new album but then got tired of it later in the year.
I’m guessing neither you or Axl heard the new Plasmarifle album.
I’m guessing neither you or Axl have heard the new Plasmarifle, Coldworker, or Burning The Masses albums.
I take it you or Axl haven’t heard the new Plasmarifle, Coldworker, or Burning The Masses albums that came out this year.
I wonder why the new Cradle of Filth is nowhere to be seen, it was a fucking great album, their third best in my opinion!
Also, for my list, in no particular order:
Cradle of Filth:Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder
Bloodbath: the Fathomless Mastery
Eluveitie: Slania
Misery Index: Traitors
Amon Amarth: Twilight of the Thunder God
Children of Bodom: Blooddrunk
large raging jockstrap Says:
December 1st, 2008 at 5:48 pm
no bullet for my valentine!??
LMAO ….. LOL …. What a fuckin joke !!!!
top 3 of 2008 in no particular order…(only 3 albums cuz im lazy and metal isnt that cool in the first place….all lies)
1. all shall perish-awaken the dreamers
2. salt the wound-carnal repercussions
3. the analyst-summoning the wretched
I know these are all pretty similar but this year i just seemed to get into some deathmetal/deathcore bands. Im from cleveland so salt the wound have taken over as my hometown heros (knocking off chimaira in short order) because they’re some young dudes from cleveland that shred balls. The analyst is a band from southbend that are kind of touring buddies with STW. At least, everytime i see STW…theres the analyst….and im not complaining.
All shall perish is just a sick ass band. the vocals make my ass fall out and the guitar playing is phenomenal, although im anxious to hear chris storey’s replacement when they come to town at the end of april….Shred nuts
i also have to add blood drunk by children of bodom….one of my favorite bands period.(period)
they continue to inject infectious melodies into their songs via Janne’s rediculous keyboard lines and the fact that alexi matches him on most of these parts is mindblowing…fuckin finland
that list is not bad but I would add the new Origin, Cult of Luna, Bloodbath, Earth, Phobia, Boris records. I also love the new releases from Kings of Leon and Portishead.
oh, I forgot the new Decrepit Birth and Crowpath records!