Welcome back, everyone.

Quick recap… We’re looking back at our favorite albums from 2014. I’ve been discussing my Top 10 on the podcast, and the Top Four will be revealed in this week’s episode. Everything else? Well, I’ll be running through my 15 honorable mentions from the past year right here on the blog this week–three a day, in no particular order whatsoever.

Shall we continue?

Novembers Doom – Bled White (The End Records)

The ninth full-length from the Chicago doom metallers is a winner. This is an extremely melancholy album, as we would all expect, but for all its darkness, it offers a phenomenal blend of echoing melodies within that aggressive, gut-wrenching riffage. Paul Kuhr offers up a brilliant vocal performance that differs stylistically from track to track, giving the album an added complexity. It’s a sobering album that is equal parts beautiful and depressing—a niche that can be difficult to meet in the doom metal world.

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Anathema – Distant Satellites (Kscope Music)

Honestly, is there anything this band hasn’t done? Sure, their days of death and doom metal are long gone, and they’re now pretty well centered in the progressive rock universe. That probably isn’t going to change. But you know what? They do what they do really, really well. This album follows the trend of Weather Systems and We’re Here Because We’re Here, and I’m totally fine with it. From start to finish, this is a wonderfully written and produced album. Even if it doesn’t really fall into the ‘metal’ category anymore, a moment must be taken to appreciate this album.

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Vallenfyre – Splinters (Century Media Records)

Let’s talk about a band I’m super excited to see at MDF 2015. The sophomore full-length release from the English doom/death metal group is, putting it simply, aggressive as all hell. I can’t decide if this album is doom metal with death metal influences or the other way around. Either way, it kicks the shit out of you in all the right ways.  It’s raw, it’s angry, it’s emotional… and it gets your foot tapping. It’s not necessarily easy to put into words, but this album simply does more than many others in this particular sub-genre.

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Man, these are fun! Check back tomorrow for three more. Quickies later!

“Ein Bier… bitte.”

– Corey

Live. Love. Plow. Horns Up.