Top 50 Discs of 2014

[dtfanatic]

There's growls but also a lot of clean vocals. I think it's well worth the purchase.

 

[Kez]

I love the Vanishing Point. Very happy to see that it made the list. Would love to drag them over here one day!!

 

[TwizstedJesus]

Daydream IX is pretty meaty. There's a lot to try to absorb at once, but from what I've spun so far its pretty fucking incredible!

I'm still in shock at how good Seventh Wonder "Waiting In The Wings" is! Better than their other material is! (Please don't kill me lmao)

 

[MeTuLHeD]

I must say that I look forward to these kinds of posts every year. Like all the rest of The PPUSA-holes, I consider myself to be savvier than thou with regard to metal music. Yet WITHOUT FAIL all of your various Top However-Many-You-Care-To-Name posts always seem to turn me on to a band or six that has somehow managed to escape my metal detector. It simply amazes me every time.

The "Must Look Into These Further" List Includes:

Split Bearing - Geez! How could I have missed these guys?
Gamma Ray - To think, I almost passed on this because I thought it would just be average and generic.
Striker - See above. Based on the name alone I figured this would be some third rate 80's Metal Blade knockoff. Dead w-r-o-n-g.
Monte Pittman - I like what I hear. Need to hear more.
Distorted Harmony - Think I heard a tiny snippet before the disc came out but it didn't stick. This song blew me away.

So thank you for turning me on to those. My wallet, on the other hand, does NOT thank you. Or perhaps I should say my Amazon gift card balance.

Now for a couple of WTH moments...

In Search of Sun - The rhythm guitarist is playing a Tele? Nashville guy???
Divine Ascension - Don't get me wrong...this is a GREAT disc imo. One of the heaviest bands to emerge from the whole symphonic metal genre. Great stuff musically. But "Diversify Mine To Escape The Drover"? Really? And this is only one of the many inane lyrics which flow forth from this band in a veritable cascade of indecipherable English. A word to non-native English speaking bands: Get a friend who speaks English fluently to help you vet your lyrics. Don't hate. Just sayin'.
Scar Symmetry - Massive brick wall limiting at the mastering stage = almost zero dynamics. This disc is a perfect example of why The Loudness Wars must end...stop the madness!

Now on to the inevitable I-can't-believe-you-didn't-mention-this-band moment...

Binary Creed - Seriously? These guys didn't even rate an honorable mention? Was it the "born again" lyrical content?
Primal Fear - You dug Lords of Black but no love for these guys? 'Delivering The Black' blew me away.
Silent Call - These guys got so much love around here for 'Greed'. Which makes it all the more odd then that 'Truth's Redemption' has generated ZERO buzz. Killer disc.
Noveria - Risen - Excellent progressive power metal.

 

[MeTuLHeD]

I left a message on Savage Messiah's facebook page letting them know of their #20 position.

That disc simply rules. A fabulous thrash band. Must be something in the water in the UK.

 

[Oblivion Ocean]

Binary Creed - Seriously? These guys didn't even rate an honorable mention? Was it the "born again" lyrical content? I mean, I know you're an old goat (slinger) from way back. But don't let a little Christianity get in your way. The riffs/songs are killer. And the vocals are nothing short of amazing. Andreas Stoltz delivers the greatness here. Fifteen years on from Hollow and he hasn't missed a step. One of the best debut discs of this or any year..

I listened to the album some via youtube and I was not a huge fan. The music was not bad, if not a little generic, but those lyrics were about as subtle as an Adam Sandler comedy.

 

[MeTuLHeD]

The music was not bad, if not a little generic, but those lyrics were about as subtle as an Adam Sandler comedy.

Well, with few exceptions heavy metal lyrics have never exactly been Shakespeare. Dirty deeds...done dirt cheap.

 

[MeTuLHeD]

No love for the Jaded Heart - Fight The System? One of my faves of the year.

*smacks forehead*

Yet another fantastic 2014 release! Man, what a great year for heavy music across all genres.

 

[TheLongshot]

Completely missed the Seven Impale track towards the end. The combo of that track, and the MP3 of the album being $4.95 on Amazon made it an instant buy.

 

[TwizstedJesus]

UPDATE: 1-7-2015
Iris Divine-Karma Sown is crawling up my list. The more I listen to it the more I like whats going on!
I also forgot the debut from Below. Very Candlemass-esque and the vox are killer. This would probably be in my top 15.
Burning Black-Remission of Sin belongs somewhere on the list also.

Quite a few cd's snuck out late in the year that belong on the top cd list. I was organizing my cd's and decided that I would make my list for facebook friends and I figured, why not post it here too? After finally getting a new power amp for my stereo, the damn thing plays 24-7 again. I never realized how much I missed using my stereo after work every day !


1. Evergrey- Hymns For The Broken
2. Need- Orvam ;A Song For Home
3. Sanctuary-The Year The Sun Died
4. Cage The Gods-Badlands
5. Ethersens-Your Wandering Ghost
6. California Breed-
7. Overkill- White Devil Armory
8. Black Fate- Between Visions & Lies
9. Adrian Vandenberg’s Moonkings- “Moonkings”
10. Harmony-Theater of Redemption
11. Soen-Tellurian
12. Daydream XI- The Grand Disguise
13. Epica- The Quantum Enigma
14. Iris Divine-Karma Sown
15. Primal Fear-Delivering the Black
16. Binary Creed-Restitution
17. RiotV - Unleash the Fire
18. Vanishing Point- Distant is the Sun
19. Wolf-Devil Seed
20. Bob Mould-Beauty and Ruin
21. Age of Artemis-The Waking Hour
22. Crystal Eyes-Killer
23. Dynazty-Renatus
24. Hammerfall-(R)evolution
25. Hatriot-Dawn of the New Centurion
26. Sinbreed-Shadows
27. Exodus-Blood In, Blood Out
28. Vanden Plas- Chronicles of the Immortals: Netherworld
29. Split Bearing- Welcome to the Present
30. Mayan- Antagonize

 

[The Fiddler]

I haven't listened to Thunderstone lately, but they immediately came to mind when listening to the "Lords of Black" sample you posted here.

 

[The Fiddler]

39. Sanctuary- The Year the Sun Died ... It may sound like a Warrel solo disc, but it was worth the wait.

How many Warrel Dane solo discs do you have?

 

[Liquid Tension]

How many Warrel Dane solo discs do you have?

You do know he has one right???

 

[Liquid Tension]

Completely missed the Seven Impale track towards the end. The combo of that track, and the MP3 of the album being $4.95 on Amazon made it an instant buy.

Wasted money for me...

 

[The Fiddler]

1. Evergrey- Hymns for the Broken: I wrote a 2,000 word essay on their last release. This time, I will simply tell you that I smiled all the way through this disc with chill bumps all over. “The Grand Collapse” is everything I love about Evergrey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK0G74RcIBM

Glenn

Sometime before the last of the PP festivals is over and you and Jen ride off into the sunset, you MUST have Evergrey perform "Hymns for the Broken" in it's entirety. With so many excellent discs, it's hard to say HFTB is my favorite, but it's shaping up to be that way.

 

[TwizstedJesus]

Sometime before the last of the PP festivals is over and you and Jen ride off into the sunset, you MUST have Evergrey perform "Hymns for the Broken" in it's entirety. With so many excellent discs, it's hard to say HFTB is my favorite, but it's shaping up to be that way.

Agreed! When Tom was there last year, I really thought that Evergrey was going to be announced as the headliner for 2015. "HFTB" is, to me, the best Evergrey cd & to see it live would be an incredible thing to behold.

And to think that there almost wasn't a new Evergrey disc!

 

[HerrStoltz]

I listened to the album some via youtube and I was not a huge fan. The music was not bad, if not a little generic, but those lyrics were about as subtle as an Adam Sandler comedy.

Just to set things straight: If anyone thinks that BC is a christian band you're mistaken. The lyrics on Restitution is about a person who is drawn to religion but finds that it's not for her and leaves it all behind.

 

[General Zod]

Just to set things straight: If anyone thinks that BC is a christian band you're mistaken. The lyrics on Restitution is about a person who is drawn to religion but finds that it's not for her and leaves it all behind.

Andreas... thanks for clarifying. The record is absolutely fantastic.

 

[The Invisible Guest]

The Binary Creed disc is excellent .. top 5 for me this year. I still put those old Hollow discs on from time to time as well, and they always hit the spot. Welcome to the board Andreas .. sure hope to see/hear you in the live setting at Prog Power some day soon.

Britt

 

[HerrStoltz]

Andreas... thanks for clarifying. The record is absolutely fantastic.

Thank you! I like your quote about religion and subscribe to it. There's another one I can recommend:

“If there is a God, atheism must seem to Him as less of an insult than religion.”
― Edmond de Goncourt