On My Own, Here We Go
The albums we reveal this week – the last regular episode of 2016 – all have something in common besides being heavy. They’re released by the bands themselves. Labels? They don’t need no stinkin’ labels! I mean, they may want them, but they prove here they certainly don’t need them.
The holiday season is here, and you will be shopping on Amazon. Please consider changing your bookmark to our site and using the album art on the side to get there! Amazon will give us a small percent back from your purchase and we use that to keep the show and site up and running. Thanks!
Reviews:
Septa – Sounds Like Murder
Teramobil – Magnitude of Thoughts
Harvest Misery – Harvest Misery
First Impressions:
Wolfheart – “Boneyard” taken from Tyhjyys out March 3, 2017 from Spinefarm
Septa – Sounds Like Murder
Harvest Misery – Harvest Misery
Teramobil – Magnitude Of Thoughts
The Sideshow Podcast 
Here we go with the start of what I’m dubbing “Listmania 2016”! I have my top 10 albums of the year, and then lots more lists in the near future to be made filling out the rest of the categories. Each day I’ll be posting a comment to the latest podcast episode with a different list category. For now, here are my top 10 albums of 2016:
1. Allegaeon – Proponent for Sentience
This album has it all. Technical musicianship, tons of jaw dropping guitar work, classical guitar, a Rush cover, guest vocals from Soilwork vocalist Speed, lyrics about Isaac Asimov’s robots, and melody. Yes, melody in a technical death metal band.
2. Periphery III Select Difficulty
Even though the first two songs on this album are nothing special, this is still Periphery’s best album so far. The emotion pours through on every song and makes me want to listen to it over and over again.
3. Weekend Nachos – Apology
Weekend Nachos pushes the boundaries of what a powerviolence album can be. I love the opening track “2015” with its great repeated riff at the end, and then the closer “Apology” with its 9 minutes of instrumental doom with a piano interlude in the middle.
4. Nails – You Will Never Be One of Us
Everything I’d want from a Nails album in 2016. If Nails had thrown in a piano interlude in their long closing track, this might have been better than Weekend Nachos.
5. Gojira – Magma
I love the vibe and direction Gojira have taken here. The songs are short, to the point, grab you quickly and don’t have any filler (except for that last track).
6. Russian Circles – Guidance
Another band that have released their best album yet in 2016. It amazes me that one of the big standouts on this album is the drumming, specifically on the tracks “Afrika” and “Vorel”. I love the atmosphere created by this three piece instrumental band on the songs “Overboard” and “Mota”. The entire album is solid and retains your attention throughout.
7. Ihsahn – Arktis
Ihsahn leaves behind black metal in favor of crafting an entire album of very good progressive metal songs. Arktis is much better than his last effort, Eremita. Guest vocals from the guy from Leprous on the closer “Celestial Violence” is the highlight, but all the songs are solid and display a range of styles that all fall under the realm of prog.
8. Metallica – Hardwired To Self-Destruct
After waiting 8 years for the follow up to Death Magnetic, Metallica release an album that is not as good as Death Magnetic. But Hardwired To Self-Destruct is still damn good, with some songs that grab you right away (such as the title track) and others that reveal themselves over repeated listens (such as “ManUNkind” and “Am I Savage”.
9. Amon Amarth – Jomsviking
Everything I’d want from a new Amon Amarth album – and a concept to boot! They still retain their signature sound and style while bringing a few new things to the table, such as the song “A Dream That Cannot Be” featuring vocals from Doro.
10. Fleshgod Apocalypse – King
Fleshgod pulls it all together and creates what is probably the best symphonic technical death metal album ever.
Here are my top 10 tech death albums of 2016. I have Metal Injection’s weekly “Tech Death Tuesday” column to thank for so many great tech death finds in 2016.
1. Allegaeon – Proponent for Sentience
2. Fleshgod Apocalypse – King
3. Enthean – Priests of Annihilation
This is my jam. Lots of good riffs on this album. Not even sure what the best song is, as there are lots of consistently good ones.
4. Obscura – Akróasis
Even though I don’t like that last song that goes nowhere, there are some standout tracks showcasing great technical ability on here.
5. Fallujah – Dreamless
The first 6 songs are some good atmospheric tech death. The rest of the album does drag a bit.
6. Vale of Pnath – II
Comparable to Allegaeon, which is a good thing.
7. Deviant Process – Paroxysm
Some good solid tech death here. Two tracks reveal themselves to be outstanding: the first track (“Unconscious”) and the second to last track (“Dysfunctional Therapy”) which has a great ending with some awesome guitar work.
8. Inanimate Existence – Calling from a Dream
Someone finally fit the niche of technical death metal with female vocals. They didn’t pull it off to perfection but they did still craft a fine album with some standout songs, including the opener (the title track), ” Pulse of the Mountain’s Heart”, and “Burial at Sea”.
9. First Fragment – Dasein
One of the better Unique Leader releases and a solid entry in a crowded tech death field of 2016.
10. Zenith Passage – Solipsist
Good tech death with 2 standout songs: “Holographic Principle II Convergence” and “Deus Deceptor”.
Top 5 old school albums of 2016 (either an old school band or an old school sound):
1. Metallica – Hardwired To Self-Destruct
2. Anthrax – For All Kings
Another winner from the current rock incarnation of Anthrax. Listening to this now (10 months after its release) still gets my juices flowing and fists pumping.
3. Vektor – Terminal Redux
This progressive thrash album is quite good. Is it a bit too long? Sure. But picking out 4 songs (tracks 3, 8-10) does a fine job of creating a nice little album, highlighted by “Pillars of Sand”.
4. Black Black Black – Altered States of Death & Grace
A nice mix of throwback/traditional rock, with the highlight being the echoed chant in “Slowly Severed” featuring Jesse Quattro (one of the female vocalists on one of the Hammers of Misfortune albums).
5. Scorpion Child – Acid Roulette
Not as good or as catchy as their debut, but still some decent classic rock in here.
Two closely related lists today:
Top 10 albums of 2016 that you (The Sideshow Podcast) didn’t listen to:
1. Ihsahan – Arktis
2. Inquisition – Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith
Another winner from the best active black metal band out there today. Even if the overall quality of the riffs isn’t as consistently great as their last album, there’s still some awesome material on here, specifically the songs “Power from the Center of the Cosmic Black Spiral” and “The Flames of Infinite Blackness Before Creation” (tracks 10 and 6).
3. Haken – Affinity
Not really metal, but some great prog rock here, highlighted by the 15 minute “Architect” and the following track “Earthrise”.
4. Borknagar – Winter Thrice
Wow are those first two songs great (“The Rhymes of the Mountain” and “Winter Thrice”). If you didn’t like ICS Vortex’s vocals on last year’s Arcturus being that they were too “out there”, he reins it in on Borknagar and compliments the 2 other vocalists nicely.
5. Vale of Pnath – II
6. Black Black Black – Altered States of Death & Grace
7. First Fragment – Dasein
8. Scorpion Child – Acid Roulette
9. Opeth – Sorceress
The first few songs are good, even if some of the songs in the middle of the album go nowhere. It will be interesting to see where this falls long term in the scope of ranking Opeth albums.
10. Cyborg Octopus – Learning to Breathe
Certainly a Between The Buried And Me influence here. Not in a bad way though.
Top 5 albums of 2016 that you (Sideshow podcast) didn’t listen to that you might actually like:
1. Ihsahan – Arktis
2. Borknagar – Winter Thrice
3. Vale of Pnath – II
4. Black Black Black – Altered States of Death & Grace
5. First Fragment – Dasein
Top 5 albums of 2016 that I haven’t yet mentioned in any other list:
1. Black Crown Initiate – Selves We Cannot Forgive
Don’t be disappointed by the fact that this isn’t as tech-y or as good as their previous album, but the proggier direction works well for them and they can still craft a solid album of songs.
2. Devin Townsend – Transcendence
Hevy Devy does it again, applying his formula to wonderful effect on this album. The only downside is that his formula is getting a bit formulaic.
3. Abbath
Good straight up Immortal style black metal.
4. Magrudergrind – II
Is it Power violence? Or is it Grindcore? Whatever it is, the Kurt Ballou production makes it sounds great.
5. Polar – No Cure No Saviour
Some good hardcore, but I wish it had more of the progressive nature of their previous album, which featured female vocals on one song.
Is that really a Green Day reference in the episode title? I was just learning to play the guitar when that song was released (Brain Stew) and I quickly learned that those 5 descending power chords are easy to play at tempo. There are lots of Green Day and Nirvana songs that a beginner guitar player can play along to and feel like a pro.
I really like the idea of separating lists by genre! It will get even more tedious for us, but I made some hard cuts on my list this year, and bringing out genres would have allowed me to keep some otherwise deserving album in the mix.
As always- excellent list man. Only a few on there that I didn’t listen to this year, but I will definitely go check out. Our top lists have a few in common, but are largely different this year.
-n
Separating my list into those genres stemmed from some of the similar sentiments that you expressed. I had a clear top 10, and then numbers 11 through 25 were all sort of one lump that I had trouble splitting hairs amongst. And as you said, I felt the need to mention some of the albums that would have been cut out of a top 20 list. So there became some natural divisions to my list, most notably by genre. However, I think that I’ve already posted all my genre lists. The next lists can better described as categories rather than genres. Stay tuned to find out what those are – I have lots more lists!