This is what I came up with for my best of list this year. It was a huge year for music for me; I purchased almost 150 albums since Jan 1 and there is still a huge list of stuff I still want to pick up. About 50 of those were 2011 releases so instead of cramming the majority into a top 40 list I'm doing a top 20.
20. Absu - Abzu
19. Tombs - Path of Totality
18. Witch Mountain - South of Salem
17. Devin Townsend Project - Ghost
16. Aerial Ruin - Valleys of the Earth
12. Vallenfyre - A Fragile King
11. Belphegor - Black Magick Necromance
9. Ogen - Black Metal Unbound
7. Hammers of Misfortune - 17th Street
6. Altar of Plagues - Mammal
5. Cynic - Carbon-Based Anatomy Even though this EP only contains 3 straightforward (non-ambient) songs, I can't stop listening to it. It's a more mellow version of Cynic but they do it well. Absolutely beautiful.
4. November's Doom - Aphotic Maybe it was because the Opeth release wasn't what I hoped or maybe I just can't believe I hadn't heard this band before, but this album totally caught me off guard. Proggy death/doom with hauntingly beautiful acoustic guitars, clean vocals and catchy-as-fuck riffs.
3. False - S/T 5 seconds into this album I knew it would be in my top 10. Just a bunch of kids from the midwest playing mid-90s style black metal. My draw dropped when I realized their singer was female.
2. Seidr - For Winter Fires I'm not a huge doom fan but this crushingly heavy album completely changed my perspective. Incorporating death, folk and sludge into their sound they somehow write 12 minute+ plus songs that you wish are longer. The intro track still gives me chills.
1. Mutilation Rites - Demo Thanks to Jake for introducing me to this band. Punk and thrash-infused USBM, this relentless demo accomplishes more in 3 songs than most bands do in a lifetime.
vaporwave
snowghoul
turnnoffyourmind
discoholicmusic
stormborns
tangentwithtanner
yousharknotpass
