Albums of the Year 2019

It is said that every 1000 years, there comes a list written in stone with the undeniably, adjectively, universally correct on all aspects, music albums of the world. This is not one of those lists.

Top 6 Albums of 2019 by Genre

There's always a bunch of albums that don't make it to the final picking because it's from genres I don't listen to that much, but it would be the ones I would suggest to someone, given that this specific genre was mentioned in a conversation. It's more like a suggestion of six albums per category, in alphabetical order and not by what I prefer. For that reason, it's only the side genres I enjoy to check from time to time and not black or death metal. You'll get plenty of that soon anyway.

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Brutal Death Metal
Devourment - Obscene Majesty
Disentomb - The Decaying Light
Meathook - Crypts, Coffins, Corpses
Paroxysmal Butchering - Amygdala
Shinda Saibo No Katamari - SAIBOGU
Visceral Disgorge - Slithering Evisceration

Crust Punk
Agnosy ‎– Daylight Reveals the Torture
Dishönor ‎– Dishönor
Kohti Tuhoa ‎– Ihmisen Kasvot
Ligæder - Den tomme menneskehed
Martyrdöd - Hexhammaren
Saccage - Khaos Mortem

Darkwave
Boy Harsher - Careful
GosT - Valediction
Kontravoid - Too Deep
Night Sins - Portrait In Silver
She Past Away - Disko anksiyete
Snow Ghosts - A Quiet Ritual

Doom Metal
Candlemass - The Door to Doom
Fvneral Fvkk - Carnal Confessions
Isole - Dystopia
Lord Vicar - The Black Powder
Purification - Destruction of the Wicked
Troll - Legend Master

Dungeon Synth
Aindulmedir - The Lunar Lexicon
Arthuros - Ithildin
Hole Dweller - Flies the Coop
Old Sorcery - Strange and Eternal
Sidereal Fortress - Racconti del focolare
Weress - The Dungeon on the Moon

Grindcore
Chants de Rats - I
Die Choking – IV
Distaste – Deibel
Fawn Limbs - Harm Remissions
No One Knows What the Dead Think - No One Knows What the Dead Think
Takafumi Matsubara - Strange, Beautiful and Fast

Neofolk
Blood of the Black Owl - Rivers Within Shadows
By the Spirits - Visions
Heilung - Futha
Kinit Her - Fire Returns to Heaven
Ofdrykkja - Gryningsvisor
Suldusk - Lunar Falls

Noise
Bug Catcher - Insectorum
Closer Bones - The Destroying Angel
Grim - Lunatic House
Merzbow – Noise Mass
Mono Hideout - Sand King
Rusalka - Flux A and B

Post-Rock
A Swarm of the Sun - The Woods
Hammock - Undercurrents
Her Name Is Calla - Animal Choir
Oh Hiroshima - Oscillation
Tides From Nebula - From Voodoo to Zen
We Lost the Sea - Triumph & Disaster

Thrash Metal
Critical Defiance - Misconception
Inculter - Fatal Visions
Morbid Cross - Disciples of the Goat
Slutvomit - Copulation of Cloven Hooves
Suicidal Angels - Years of Aggression
Toxic Holocaust - Primal Future: 2019

Top 10 non-metal Releases of 2019

I would ideally prefer this list to be fused with the rest of the albums and not be separate, however metal is such a different and bigger story which makes it pretty hard to compare, considering the difference in the amount of albums listened in each category. I don't follow any specific bands either, more like listening to whatever I can get my hands on with a few filters that I have in my head depending on what I enjoy. 

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10. Kadavar - For the Dead Travel Fast

9. La Dispute - Panorama

8. Meitei - Komachi

7. State Faults - Clairvoyant

6. Thom Yorke - ANIMA

5. The Caretaker - Everywhere, an Empty Bliss

4. Brutus – Nest

3. Pelican – Nighttime Stories

2. Chelsea Wolfe - Birth of Violence

1. Lingua Ignota - Caligula

Top 10 Demos and EPs of 2019

Since mixing the smaller duration releases with full-lengths has never been right, it's wiser to make separate lists with the highlight demos and Extended Plays (EPs) of the year. An additional reason to that is that many bands focus on the release of an EP at a given year instead of a full album, not to mention underground black metal bands solely sticking to demo territories. If you choose to focus on full-lengths only, there's a fair amount of music you're going to miss, but again one sadly can't listen to everything. I myself don't go into demos that much, or to put it in a different way, demos take up the 1/20th of what I will listen to in a year, or maybe less. There are two lists below, one for my favorite EPs and one for the demos, take a nice break into poorly produced gems for now.

~ Top ten demos of 2019 ~

(11. Ish Kerioth - One Of The Twelve)

10. Gråinheim – Aries

9. Sedimentum - Demo

8. Lamp of Murmuur - Melancholy Howls in Ceremonial Penitence 

7. Skelethal - Antropomorphia

6. Chthonic Deity – Reassembled In Pain

5. Minnesjord – Agrura

4. Baxaxaxa – The Old Evil

3. Tornmód - Fullmoon Misanthropy

2. Blood Tyrant - The Realm That Brings Forth Death

1. Kommodus – An Imperial Sun Rises 

~ Top ten EPs of 2019 ~

10. Drowning the Light – A Gleam in the Eye of Set

9. Hellripper – Black Arts & Alchemy

8. Tsjuster - Swarte Heap

7. Monarque - Jusqu'à la Mort

6. Ateiggär - Us d‘r Höll chunnt nume Zyt

5. Bölzer – Lese Majesty

4. Ectovoid – Inner Death

3. Ripped to Shreds - Demon Scriptures

2. Volahn - El Tigre del Sur

1. Panopticon – The Crescendo of Dusk

I was never into Panopticon too much, despite all the praise they get from all sides and the obvious overwhelming talent. Yet the two tracks from this EP I'm listening to everyday. Apart from that, take the rest of the releases numbered above one by one and you will not miss out!

Top 10 Beers Tried in 2019

Until last year, I was a low hanging fruit when it came to the world of beer, in fact I thought it wasn't worth the time or money. Just a few months ago I decided to look into it more after a talk with some friends, and this realization became reality. The variety in taste and experimentation of beer brewing is much vaster than you think, and after it grows on you, it gets clearer and clearer that exploring craft breweries is one of the best activities on planet earth. I only got Untappd in April so that's when I starting having a helper of keeping track, yet I don't think I tried anything too extraordinary before that. I'm open for a judgmental deconstruction from all the beer experts out there, keep in mind though that I don't care about other important parts of my life, so imagine how much I don't care about you. I grew a love for stouts (rule of thumb in life is, the darker it is, the better!) so the first spots are occupied accordingly. 

10. The Lost Abbey - Judgement Day | Quadruple Ale - ABV: 10.2%

9. Katsika | Pale Ale - ABV: 5.4%

8. Orkney Brewery - Skull Splitter | Scotch Ale - ABV: 8.5%

7. Einstök - Icelandic Pale Ale | APA - ABV: 5.6%

6. Electric Curse - Dark Skull (feat. Victor Brandt) | Imperial Stout - ABV: 10.7%

5. Kykao & Marmita - Summer Session IPA | Indian Session Ale - ABV: 5% [a very interesting case of a session beer with 100 IBU (!!) that was well balanced and pleasingly drinkable]

4. Pine Ridge Brewery - The Big Beautiful Walrus | Imperial Stout - ABV: 10.5%

3. Dugges Bryggeri (collab. with Omnipollo) - Anagram Bourbon Barrel Aged Blueberry Cheesecake Stout | Imperial Stout - ABV: 15% [felt like the best liquid cake I ever had]

2. Lervig - TIMES 8 | Pastry Stout - ABV: 16% [the boss of all pastry stouts that were and will be in the future]

1. Yria Cervezas & Seven Island Brewery - Nicta | Russian Imperial Stout - ABV: 17% [stood up and started clapping when I tasted this magnificent beast of a beer]

Music posts will return in a few days, and maybe earlier than in the previous years, see you in a while.

Top 15 Greek Releases of 2019

Instead of releasing one post every other day close to the ending of the year, and since it's unclear to me how much time i will have later in December, I will be posting some lists throughout the whole month. The fuller list will be posted at the end as the always, which is worked on since a week ago. Every year I usually cover EPs, Greek metal, generally good albums, I decided to stop mentioning disappointments separately since 2013, a non-metal and a metal list, so I will follow this recipe for 2019 but with slight deviations. Here are my favorite releases from Greece for the year, which are mixed from everything I listened to. I expected more from some bands, other bands surprised me, yet apart from a couple of exceptions I don't prefer 2019 over the previous years when it comes to the country's music.

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15. Dark Messiah - Echoes of War [Listen]

14. Murder Made God - Endless Return [Listen]

13. Akantha - Baptism in Psychical Analects [Listen]

13. Sores - Sores [Listen]

12. Darchon - Οἰωνός [Listen]

11. Arthuros - Ithildin [Listen]

10. Ectoplasma - White-Eyed Trance [Listen]

9. Antimob - II [Listen]

8. Planet of Zeus - Faith in Physics [Listen]

6. Aiμα - Tragos [Listen]

7. Their Methlab - The Last Second [Listen]

6. Chronoboros - The Mass Saw Acres of Chain [Listen]

5. Apognosis - Dominion in Polarity [Listen]

4. Order of the Ebon Hand - VII: The Chariot [Listen]

3. Dizziness - Reroute [Listen]

2. Xylouris White - The Sisypheans [Listen]

1. Akrotheism - Law of Seven Deaths [Listen]

Apart from the full lengths, a few mini-albums also made it out (in no particular order):

Human Serpent - The Vacuity (EP)

Stiletto - Poserkiller (Demo)

Hate Manifesto - Herald of Triumph (EP)

Askalaphos - Demo 

Utkena - The Firmament's Hand (EP)

Amestigon / Heretic Cult Redeemer (Split)

Imprecation / Black Blood Invocation (Split)

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| MORE ARE COMING, STAY TUNED |