AXL ROSENBERG’S TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2008
Monday, December 15th, 2008 at 5:00pm by Axl Rosenberg
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. And what difference does it make, really? It’s just a matter of personal taste, and we’re all gonna die and be forgotten anyway.
So enough with the horseshit. Here’s what I spent my year listening to:
1. Gojira – The Way of All Flesh (Prosthetic/Listenable)
It was a pretty incredible year for death metal in all its various forms, and this sum’bitch led the pack. I feel like I heard a lot more people bitch about hype than I heard any actual hype itself. In any case, it’s irrelevant: this album fucking rules. It crushes harder than being stuck under Billy Milano stuck under Dino Cazares stuck under Gene Hoglan, but it also just feels really fucking good to listen to. Whether it’s the groovy tapping riff of “Oroborus” or the awesome dive-bomb of “Toxic Garbage Island” or the American New Wavery of “Adoration for None” or the elasticity of “Vacuity,” this record is just fun. Joe Duplantier’s sociopolitcal/spiritual (but not preachy) poetry elevates it above the usual death metal schtick. And the fact that Gojira seem to have evolved into the best live band, like, ever doesn’t really hurt. The Way of All Flesh is an elephantine cockslap in the face of all that is boring about metal. It makes the monster from Cloverfield look like a massive, massive pussy. It murdered my father and raped my sister and left my village in flames. It is a true beast.
2. The Faceless -Planetary Duality (Sumerian)
Some people will label this album “deathcore” as a way of dismissing it. Those people should have their tongues cut out and then be made to eat said tongue, so as to better understand the value of a tongue.
Because The Faceless just might be the heaviest fucking progressive rock band of all time. Like I said, 2008 was a damn fine year for death metal, and technical death metal in and of itself did pretty fucking well – I mean, Origin recorded like a nine minute song, for fuck’s sake – and Planetary Duality still somehow seemed better than everything.
Yeah, it’s really short, but the length encourages an immediate repeat listen (if we still used cassettes, the program would repeat on side B, Reign in Blood-style), which is great, because you can’t really, truly appreciate what an ass-rippingly righteous album this is if you haven’t given it repeat listens. I think an awesome way to die would be to drop acid and have yourself decapitated… all while listening to this record. Awesome. Totally awesome.
3. Nachtmystium – Assassins: Black Meddle Part 1 (Century)
“Ghost of Grace” is the best song to get stoned to in 2008. Actually, this whole album is the best song to get stoned to in 2008. It’s one of those recordings that somehow makes being really raw really beautiful. It’s seething but trippy, an introspective scream into the storm. Black metal getting all hippy-dippy on us isn’t exactly the big new reinvention of the genre people say it is, but Nachtmystium certainly seem to have perfected the act in a way which will forever tie it to their name.
Plus, the album art has tits and a skull and a difficult (if not quite impossible) to read font. Fucking metal.
4. Genghis Tron – Board Up the House (Relapse)
Now that seemingly every third band is aping the schizophrenic electro-grind that once made Cloak of Love seem so innovative, Genghis Tron really had no choice but to try and push forward and evolve. And evolve they did. These songs are still every bit as rabid-doberman bloodthirsty as anything GT have ever recored, but have a new coherency about them, as though the clash of styles has finally codified. The music has room to breathe; it wants to toy with you for a sec before it goes back to fucking you with a knife. Rarely has cover art so perfectly captured what it feels like to listen to an album. In any of year I think this would have been even higher on my list. Fuck, it’s good.
5. Guns N’ Roses – Chinese Democracy (Geffen)
Death Magnetic > Chinese Democracy, Slash > Buckethead, Where’s Izzy?, Axl Rose is a douche, it wasn’t worth the wait, it wasn’t worth the money, it tanked, there’s too many ballads, it’s not tr00, it’s corporate, it’s overproduced, people who like this album also like to suck cock.
Now that we got all that out of the way…
Some people have dismissed this album out of hand, and it’s their loss. Even if it is really just an Axl Rose solo album, it’s one of the best records of its kind in years – rarely has recent pop music been as rewarding to multiple listens. Axl Rose makes pop metal the way pop metal is supposed to sound. Nuthin’ to do now but buckle down and wait for the next Axl Rose Experience in fifteen years.
6. Cynic – Traced in Air (Season of Mist)
Full confession: wasn’t even a Cynic fan before I heard this. A crime, I know. It’s so pretty and so angry and so well-made for the purpose of doing illicit drugs. I mean, seriously, what is “Evolutionary Sleeper” if not a call for bong-induced naps? Listen to that totally sweet guitar solo – it makes my eyelids heavy in the best possible way. “Integral Birth” is a like a warm glass of milk and a good snuggly blanket, only it’s, y’know, a mind-blowing prog-metal song instead.
Like any good jizz-inducing prog band, Cynic’s music exists very much to demonstrate that they can play their instruments so well that all other musicians might as well kill themselves; unlike other good jizz-inducing prog bands (some of whom released very fine albums this year), this isn’t frantic, show-offy, or generally pretentious. It’s just really, really fucking good.
7. Made Out of Babies – The Ruiner (The End)
“RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!” Julie Christmas shrieks on this, her most public of therapy sessions; it’s not a warning, but a threat. She is, without a doubt, one of the hottest women ever in serious need of an exorcism. For few bands would I brave the sea of Brooklyn hipsters, but for Made Out Babies, in a year when they put out an album this kick-ass, I might even go to the Lower East Side like it was still the 90s. Rarely has art metal/noise rawk/whatever been so worthy of the hype. It’s entirely possible I didn’t listen to any song as many times this year as I listened to “Invisible Ink.” As epic, primal, and cinematic as its cover would suggest.
8. Hate Eternal – Fury & Flames (Metal Blade)
Erik Rutan finally crawls out of the shadow of Morbid Angel to make his masterpiece. It’s so fucking angry and ugly and unrelenting and exhausting and fucking magnificent. Jade Simonetto’s curb-stomp blast beats and the endlessly swirling guitars of Rutan and Shaune Kelley and the screaming, oh God, the screaming – if there’s a scarier sounding dude that Erik Rutan, I don’t know of him.
“YOU HAVE NOW PASSED ON!” the fucking demon from hell we know as “Erik Rutan” bleeds his throat raw shouting on “Tombeau (Le Tombeau de la Fureur Et Des Flammes).” “YOU SHALL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN! YOU SHALL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED!” Rutan doesn’t care about anything other than making you feel his pain in the most visceral way possible, and he succeeds. There is nothing pretty or nice about this record. It is the sound of the most horrid agony imaginable. And it’s one for the ages.
9. Daylight Dies – Lost to the Living (Candlelight)
The melodic death metal experience of the year. The gorgeous and aching doom experience that we’ve come to expect from these dudes – only the songwriting and musicianship have been kicked up a notch. How come there wasn’t a European band to make something like this in ‘08?
No matter. Lost to the Living is like the sound of a Shakespearean villain – evil, seductive, wounded, and epic in ambition. Metal’s answer to drifting through outer space – freeing and horrifying and cancer black.
10. Bloodbath – The Fathomless Mastery (Peaceville)
Alright, this was just the fun, straight-forward death metal album of the year. A lot of bands managed to sneak in hooks without giving over completely to the Gothenburg side, and a lot of bands managed to write breakdowns to annihilate an entire city by, but no one else had riffs this tasty. There’s no bullshit here – just a 100% solid reminder of why we listen to death metal in the first place. Shame on me for writing off a Swano-less Bloodbath; The Fathomless Mastery put me in my place, and then some.
Best album of 2009: whatever Lake Bukkake puts out. Fingers crossed.
-AR
i collect cans for the needy
Another good list! props for mentioning The Faceless. That record is incredible.
axl, not trying to be an asshole but can you please explain WHY THE FUCK PROTEST THE HERO ISN’T ON THIS LIST????? is there something you don’t like about em or have you not heard FORTRESS the best album of 08??
I guess i’ve got to check out Genghis Tron, people with pretty good taste seem to like them.
Oh, btw, haven’t you guys hear Ansur-Warring Factions? Best prog metal album of the year. Awesome stuff.
Good list. Totally agree with Erik Rutan being the scariest sounding dude going. What a badass.
Your taste may be different than mine but I can’t agree more with Gojira as number 1. I don’t really like death metal but I just can’t get enough Gojira though I don’t think they really fit in that genre anyway. Death metal to me gets it’s name from it’s lyrical content and cookie monster vocals, Joe doesn’t do a true cookie monster and lyrically there is none of the grotesquery that is indicative of death metal. Personally I think they are in a category by themselves which is what metal is all about.
Vince’s list is better, but props up for The Faceless. kicked major ass.
CHEERS TO GOJIRA!! Best shit that’s happen to metal in a while.
1. Gojira
2. Enslaved
3. Amon Amarth, Bloodbath, Opeth, Hate Eternal
TOP TEN LISTS ARE FOR SELLOUTS AND LITTLE GIRLS
I agree with everyone. Gojira deserves all the respect they are getting and more. Metal deserves them and if you have not seen them live, drive as far and spend as much money as possible to make it happen. They are seriously one of a kind….Looks like I need to go buy The Faceless and Bloodbath because all im hearing is good shit.
my taste seems to be completly different to everyone on here whos made a top 10 cos mine doesnt feature most the albums mentioned in the lists on this site
my top 10 is:
(in no perticular order)
The Scarecrow by Avantasia
Tinnitus Sanctus by Edguy
Motorizer by motorhead
the man who would not die by blaze bayley
the formation of damnation by testament
black ice by ac/dc
captain morgans revenge by alestorm
the art of war by sabaton
perpetual flame by yngwie malmsteens rising force
Citizen Brain by gama bomb
1.- genghis tron-board up to house
2.-thrice -alchemy index
3.-between the buried and me -colors
4.- dillinger escape plan-ire works
5.-cult of luna- eternal kingdom
6.-nine inch nails-the slip
7.-radiohead-in rainbow
8.-sigur ros
9.-nachtmystium-asassins
10.-the fall of troy-fantom on the horizon ( even though i hate the rest of their albums this one is really good!)
Thumbs up alex c. for putting thrice on your list. So good.
This was the list I agreed with the most. I thought that 2008 was a pretty dope year for music in general, really. A few additions I would like to recommend:
Cephalectomy released The Dream Cycle Mythos this year. It is fucking badass. 29 minutes of Chthulu inspired insanity. These guys know how to riff and know how to make use of negative spaces in music. Plus the vocalist works under the Mike Patton school of vocalization, wherein the singer works hard to make his voice as interesting as the music.
The Roots released their darkest and most fucked up record to date Rising Down. It’s very raw-sounding, dark, aggressive, and misanthropic. It’s like a hip-hop version of black metal.
That’s all I’ve got though. Although Cephalectomy’s Eclipsing The Dawn (which came out a few years ago) is probably my most listened to album of 2008.
genghis tron are fucking boring and shit
Ok, so I’ve read all the lists now and… well… Metal truly sucks, you all seem to have missed out on Satyricon’s brilliant new album “The Age Of Nero”. Now that’s a record of the year in my book.
I too dismissed that The Faceless album without actually hearing a song (despite being into some deathcore), but i’m downloading it right now on your advice!
Buns-n-poses is not metal. never has been , never will be. They’re pop rock at best, not to mentin there’s only one member from that crap band left but whatever. Gojira, Blood bath, Hate Eternal and Cynic are all badass.
I agree with EnemyofGod72, calling Gojira “death metal” really does them a disservice (I realize they categorize themselves that way). I’m not sure how I feel about them, but I certainly find them more appealing than I do most death metal acts. However, I canNOT get into Ghengis Tron. Seriously, I cannot find the appeal. I guess that’s why taste is subjective.
Gojira does play metal about death though…and I don’t really think you can argue that cookie monster vocals are a necessary part of dm since bands like…ya know…Death..didn’t really have them.
@ Alex Haskett:
Couldn’t agree more with Blaze Bayley record: 2008’s best album of Heavy as a subgenre and sadly forgotten and ignored by almost everyone in metal world
4 albums, 4 heavy masterpieces in a row… the guy deserves some recognition!!
Kudos Axl on a stellar fucking list.What I don’t already love on this list, I’ve been meaning to check out.
Good list
Nobody’s mentioned Meshuggah… Funny. I mean, I guess that’s why they’re underground?
I would have put ObZen in the list, but then again, I haven’t listened to the CDs that you’ve listed, although I did buy Fortress (P.T.H) the other day, and it’s really good.
I’ll have to get these other albums.
I’m out, and have an excellent New Year to everybody… I’m in my homeland of Chile for the holidays! Great break from England…
chi chi chi le le le viva chile
i still havent had time to get into messhugah but if they went on tour with dillinger that means that their good
1.- genghis tron-board up to house
2.-thrice -alchemy index
3.-between the buried and me -colors
4.- dillinger escape plan-ire works
5.-cult of luna- eternal kingdom
6.-nine inch nails-the slip
7.-radiohead-in rainbow
8.-sigur ros
9.-nachtmystium-asassins
10.-the fall of troy-fantom on the horizon ( even though i hate the rest of their albums this one is really good!)
their goes my list again!
psyopus is the album im waiting for next year
and dillinger
All of you only like Gojira The way of All Flesh because you’re all pot heads or alcoholics. I’m not complaining or looking down on any of you, I just embraced this album while with my good friend Captain Morgan and I must say; good show Gojira! For some reason the beginning of Oroborus made me laugh uncontrollably; not because it was crap but because its melody made me so happy I almost crapped myself. Good pick you guys, continue your substances abuse ways and surely you will lead me to more music that I can enjoy while under the influence.
best album of 2009- NEKROGOBLIKON – STENCH.
I fucking guarantee you.
I have every album on this list, and I couldn’t agree more.