Albums of the Year 2017

This blog is now five years old, plus a couple of months.

AOTY 2017: Top 10 misc albums

László Moholy-Nagy, At Coffee, c. 1920s

We're close, we're almost there! This is the final post before my main list and again I'm doing this seperation with miscellaneous albums, maybe for the last time. We'll see!

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10. William Basinski - A Shadow in Time

ambient

listen

9. The Necks – Unfold

jazz, improvization

listen

8. Brad Medhlau & Chris Thile - Brad Medhlau & Chris Thile 

jazz, piano, acoustic

listen

7. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – Feed the Rats

stoner rock

listen

6. Ulver – The Assassination of Julius Caesar

synthpop, experimental

listen

5. Colin Stetson – All This I Do for Glory

experimental, jazz

listen

4. Elder – Reflections of A Floating World

stoner / hard rock

listen

3. Godspeed You! Black Emperor – Luciferian Towers

post-rock

listen

2. Susanne Sundfør - Music for People in Trouble

pop

listen

★ 1. Krokofant – Krokofant III ★

jazz rock

listen

Krokofant

AOTY 2017: Top 10 EPs

Shuffling through releases of my favorite format, I saw new violent Svartidauði material, as well as Sinmara and finally another One Tail, One Head EP. Great new bands come around, like Abkehr, Daeva, Chevalier, Thantifaxath’s mini album appealed to me more than their full length a couple of years ago and Poison Blood was a reasonable / nice crossover. Fever Nest was the best gift of the year and close to the epitome of filth, just how it’s done. I want to change my approach to end year lists drastically in the future, but I hope this kind will stick around.

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10. Poison Blood – Poison Blood

9. Chevalier – A Call to Arms

8. One Tail, One Head – Firebirds b/w Prowess

7. Oranssi Pazuzu - Kevät / Värimyrsky

6. Daeva – Pulsing Dark Absorptions

5. Svartidauði – Untitled

4. Thantifaxath - Void Masquerading As Matter

3. Abkehr – In Asche

2. Sinmara – Within the Weaves of Infinity

1. Fever Nest – Black Carrion Fowl

AOTY 2017: Top Greek Metal

I surely prefer the last two years over 2017 when it comes to my homeland’s releases and I wasn’t blown away by almost anything. In fact, I was kindly disappointed by bands I expected more from, even though in some other occasions, I went through pleasing listens. Apart from a top ten, below you will find one EP / demo and split of the year, just one in each case. As I’m very keen in black and death metal, most of the stuff here, if not all, are records of the two genres.

The main reason I post a list like this (almost) all the time is because I want to keep notes of Greek releases each year, not because I have stronger interest or appeal about it than music from around the world. There are great artists who deserve recognition here, we have history and a few bands have gone very popular in the underground and not only, but if you limit your listening choices to a single place, you totally miss the pace of a genre, as a whole. I have some thoughts I might expand in a different article one day.

If you look at them strictly, a couple are not metal, I know!

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10. Kawir - Εξιλασμός

9. Procrastinate - Procrastinate

8. Dephosphorous – Impossible Orbits

7. Acherontas - Amarta

6. SepticFlesh – Codex Omega

5. Βρωμόστομοι - Αποστόμωση

4. Locust Leaves – A Subtler Kind of Light

3. Resurgency – No Worlds… Nor Gods Beyond

2. Hate Manifesto – To Those Who Glorified Death

1. Natvre’s – Early Cvlts

EP of the year:

Deviser - Howling Flames

Demo of the year:

Black Blood Invocation – Black Blood Invocation

Split of the year:

Diablery / Shadowcraft - Entropy

2017 Arson Awards

Hello, did you miss me? I missed me.

Before coming with more detailed lists in the following days and a grandiose post at the end of the year, here are ten bullet lists of various genres / types for you to chew on until I construct actual content. More will come.

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Best thrash metal album:

5. Overkill - The Grinding Wheel

4. Iron Reagan - Crossover Ministry

3. Entrench - Through the Walls of Flesh

2. Vulture - The Guillotine

1. Condor - Unstoppable Power

Best doom metal album:

5. Morast - Ancestral Void

4. Sorcerer - The Crowning of the Fire King

3. King Woman - Created in the Image of Suffering

2. Below - Upon a Pale Horse

1. Pallbearer - Heartless

Best viking metal album:

5. Jörmungandr - Cernunnos

4. King of Asgard - :Taudr:

3. Ereb Altor - Ulfven

2. Vintersorg - Till Fjälls del II

1. Helheim - landawarijaR

Best grindcore album:

5. Sloth Herder - No Pity, No Sunrise

4. Phobia - Lifeless God

3. Leng Tch'e - Razorgrind

2. Full of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy

1. Chepang - Dadhelo: A Tale of Wildfire

Best brutal death metal album:

5. Hate Inclination - Disease Swept the Cosmos

4. Khazaddum - Plagues Upon Arda

3. Condemned - His Divine Shadow

2. Decrepit Birth - Axis Mundi

1. Gutslit - Amputheatre

Best sludge album:

5. Owlcrusher - Owlcrusher

4. Rosetta - Utopioid

3. Bison - You Are Not the Ocean You Are the Patient

2. Usnea - Portals Into Futility

1. Amenra - Mass VI

Best hardcore punk album:

5. Brutality Will Prevail - In Dark Places

4. Dead Cross - Dead Cross

3. Trapped Under Ice - Heatwave

2. All Pigs Must Die - Hostage Animal

1. Wolf Brigade - Run With the Hunted

Best album by long-running band:

5. Paradise Lost - Medusa

4. Morbid Angel - Kingdoms Disdained

3. Obituary - Obituary

2. Immolation - Atonement

1. Enslaved - E

Best split album:

5. Shadowcraft / Diablery

4. Siberian Hell Sounds / Convulsing

3. Chaos Invocation / Thy Darkened Shade

2. Drudkh / Paysage d'Hiver

1. Sinmara / Misþyrming

Best debut album:

5. Goatvermin – Detruire

4. Orm – Orm

3. Dumal - The Lesser God

2. Venenum - Trance of Death

1. Ungfell – Tôtbringære