The Overall Metal Judgment Top Ten Albums of 2003:
Abyss's Top Ten:
2003 was one hell of a year! While most of you out there will remember it as the year in which Italian dairy group leader Parmalat collapsed amid suspect balance sheets and siphoned money, others will remember it for the music. Every year it seems to get harder and harder to whittle 365 days of (mostly) quality metal to a list of ten - which I guess is why many metal publications now have top 15s and 20s (pussies!). While I have enjoyed dozens of albums this year, I do look forward to the time when some band comes forth in the not-too-distant future to shake up the metal scene. With metalcore approaching the saturation of the Gothenburg sound, a new movement is most welcome, and who knows - 2004 may be the year. Outside of the world of music, people will most likely remember 2003 as the year the NY Giants couldn't do anything right, or the year that Saddam Hussein was captured, or, most importantly, the year Syracuse University won the NCAA National Basketball Championship, but it's the music that will bring our us back to those memories in the years ahead.
1. Edge of Sanity - Crimson II
Much like movie of the year, this one was no real contest. This is easily a strong contender for Album of the Decade, melding the quintessential Edge of Sanity sound with ambition and grace. This album is just plain brilliant, contributing strongly to an already amazing predecessor. When output, artistry, and purpose are all analyzed, this album comes out with perfect scores. We needed this album in 2003, to remind us where we've come from and where we're going.
2. Overkill - Killbox 13
The most consistent thrash act has done it again! Overkill continue to put out unappreciated albums, unnoticed by throngs of fans who needlessly lament the demise of Megadeth and Metallica. The grit and integrity of the 80's American thrash scene is alive and kicking in the 21st century, and sounding as fresh as ever.
3. The Quill - Hooray! It's a Deathtrip
I had just gotten my top ten all assembled (after literally months of contemplation) when my buddy Famine sends me this CD in a holiday gift pack. Thanks a lot Famine - for throwing the biggest fucking wrench you could find into my well-calculated list. I've had this record for only a little over a week, but I've listened to it well over 15 times already, and am increasingly blown away. I don't care if you call it stoner or hard rock or whatever, The Quill remind me of the strongest material from Monster Magnet, Soundgarden and Kyuss all the while demonstrating a knack for hook as well as experimentation. Perhaps I'm jumping the gun putting it so high having had so little time with it, but it just feels right.
4. Watch Them Die - Watch Them Die
This band is the one I'd have to nominate as most likely to break open the seams of the genre known as metalcore with their next album. They arguably have already done so, as they readily defy any attempt at labeling them. They have a fresh new sound and an old-school attitude brought forth with a blistering, caustic attack of sonic razorblades. Very exciting stuff.
5. Soulless - Agony's Lament
Technically released in 2002, it makes my list because it wasn't released domestically until this year. This album shreds from start to finish, combining professionalism, integrity, talent, and heft. Pummeling the listener with a sound inspired by both American and European 80's thrash, Soulless beat better known acts like The Haunted and Corporation 187 at their own game (and both of those albums were pretty fucking good!). I've said it before and I'll say it again: Soulless is the best band you're not listening to.
6. Grimfist - Ghouls of Grandeur
This album is just infectious. Don't even try to resist the compelling riffs and beckoning vocals, you'll just end up hurting yourself. This is a band that quells my craving for Immortal, even though they don't come anywhere close to copying their sound. This band obviously takes a lot of pride in their work (as well they should), and the effort comes through loud and clear (well actually it's pretty distorted, but you get my drift). This should be in every metalhead's collection.
7. Necrophagia - The Divine Art of Torture
This band have come out with the best album of their career, seemingly unaffected by recent line-up changes. This album is a disturbingly entertaining haunted carnival freakshow of an album that is raw and sadistically enjoyable. By the end of the album you'll have a vacant and evil grin on your face that will make your neighbors uneasy and your friends fearful. More fun than a barrel of evil flying monkeys.
8. The Crown - Possessed 13
Every album by this band has made has been remarkable, and I am continuously amazed by the consistency with which they craft albums full of energy, force and emotion. And while this album hasn't surpassed Deathrace King (my favorite of the band's post-Crown of Thorns period), it stands proudly beside it. The melodic death metal scene may be over-hyped and diluted, but as long as there are a few bands putting out material of this caliber, it will always have a place in my collection.
9. Nasum - Helvete
Don't you dare forget Nasum! This band is the reigning champion in the current grind scene, often overlooked just because they're taken as a given. This band has the ability to tame chaos itself, streamlining grindcore into a listenable, groove-strewn entity that utilizes all of the experimentation and none of the tediousness of some of their peers. While promising acts like Pig Destroyer might be challenging them, Nasum still holds the title.
10. (tie) Vital Remains - Dechristianize
This album deserves top-ten consideration for the title track alone, possibly the best death metal song written this year. While I have heard some understandable criticisms of the production values of this album, these guys have put on a clinic with regard to songwriting. The songs are crushing, hook-filled, and inspired, allowing the meticulous critic and unbridled fan in all of us to bang their heads in unison. It also brought veteran vocalist Glen Benton back into relevance.
10. (tie) Akercocke - Choronzon
These guys prove that well-tailored suits and metal can mix with impressive results (something the people at my workplace can't seem to grasp). This album is a bold experimentation in sound and is murderous in intent. It's a Satanic Sexual Bloodlust thing, that only the truly twisted can appreciate, and marks the latest in a trilogy of releases that cement this band as one of the finest in modern metal.
Honorable Mention:
Carpathian Forest - Defending the Throne of Evil
Cradle of Filth - Damnation and a Day
Exhumed - Anatomy is Destiny
Alchemist - Austral Alien
Children of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll
Best Concerts:
1. Metal Gods
2. Iron Maiden/Dio
3. New England Metal & Hardcore Festival
4. Dimmu Borgir/Nevermore/Children of Bodom/Hypocrisy
Non-metal Album of the Year:
Liz Phair - Liz Phair
Movie of the year:
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Death's Top Ten:
1. Dream Theater - Train of Thought
Train of Thought. I absolutely love it. The perfect blend of catchiness, musicianship, and metallic crunch. The whole thing strikes a tone of dark bitterness and an overall air of self-confident defiance, and I can't get the hooks out of my head. The guitar solos are blistering, the riffs are often pummeling, and LaBrie is so much more interesting singing metal than he is singing piano ballads. "Don't cross the crooked step."
2. Lamb of God - As the Palaces Burn
The best thrash metal record of 2003. Lamb of God deserves the hype and attention they get, they are the post-Pantera mainstream true-metal kings. The Devin Townsend production is mixed, showing creativity yet leaving us with thinner guitars than I would have preferred, but these songs kick so much ass that the production is only an afterthought. A decade from now, this album will still be considered a classic.
3. Nevermore - Enemies of Reality
Nevermore got even heavier, and while this is another example of a great album overcoming mediocre production, I absolutely love it. Still one of my favorite bands.
4. John Arch - A Twist of Fate
I had been waiting since Awaken the Gaurdian to hear this album. Arch, Matheos, Portnoy and Vera. Absolute musical perfection. The complaint of course is that this is only two songs, even though they are each over twelve minutes in length. But "Relentless" alone is enough to get this a spot on my year-end list. I can only hope that a full album is in our future.
5. Iron Maiden - Dance of Death
In the end, it was better than Brave New World, an album I liked a lot. But Dance of Death has more life, and showcases a band more comfortable in its own skin and freer to open itself up and explore new musical ground, rather than needing to focus, control and and carefully position the comeback. Live, the band is still the best in the business. And new studio tracks like "Paschendale" are some of the band's best material since the mid-eighties.
6. Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
Catchy, slightly doomy and slightly goth, yet strangely soothing and always compelling. These songs feel like they mean something from the first moment you hear them. Different enough to keep sounding fresh, classically heavy enough to maintain the interest of this lifelong metalhead. A great album.
7. Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion
Lamb of God is heavier, but Arch Enemy is more technical. Together, they are a killer one-two thrash punch for 2003. If Lamb of God is like Pantera, then Arch Enemy is like Megadeth. Not since 1990's Rust in Peace and Cowboys From Hell have lovers of both variations of the American thrash aesthetic had so much to get excited about.
8. Children of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll
High-level, modern blackened death with a killer guitar player and a neo-classical aesthetic, with a fun overall tone and a great production. Children of Bodom are finally touring the U.S., and this album is the perfect springboard to expose them to the American metal masses.
9. Superjoint Ritual - A Lethal Dose of American Hatred
I learned long ago not to judge the quality of a metal album on the degree of my acceptance of the lyrical ideology it espouses. But I am entertained by all sorts of viewpoints. Anselmo has a "take" on this record and while I intellectually dismiss it, as a metalhead I am entertained by it. Anselmo does not give a fuck, he has the balls to say some crazy shit, and the whole thing comes off as a giant fuck you to the world. Isn't that really the ultimate point of metal lyrics sometimes anyway? Thus we get the classic Phil Anselmo as tough guy frontman character telling the world to fuck off backed up by cool, old-school style riffs that purely distill the power of the core metal feelings into a few simple chords. Lowbrow or not, this is really a great album.
10. Type O Negative - Life Is Killing Me
Life is Killing Me. This one catches me totally by surprise, but I think this is that rare deep, well-conceived and emotional album that does not take itself too seriously. At the core, it comes down to the fact that the songs are great - catchy and weighty at the same time.
Honorable Mentions:
Overkill - Killbox 13
Grimfist - Ghouls of Grandeur
Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad
Vital Remains - Dechristianize
Skinless - From Sacrifice to Survival
Opeth - Damnation
Best Concerts of 2003:
1. Iron Maiden/Dio
2. New England Metal & Hardcore Festival
3. Helloween
4. Headbanger's Ball Tour
5. Slayer/Hatebreed/Arch Enemy
Best Sports Victories of 2003:
1. Syracuse University win NCAA Men's Basketball Championship
2. Oakland Raiders win AFC Championship
3. New York Yankees defeat Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the ALCS
Best Movies of 2003:
1. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
2. School of Rock
3. Finding Nemo
Hel's Top Ten:
Time for my annual ritual - some people ring in the new year by making resolutions, but instead, I typically spend that time complaining about having to narrow my favorite albums of last year down to a mere ten. This year was again, absolutely painful and even after hours and hours of listening to my favorite 25 albums of the year over and over, I am still dithering over my final decisions as I write this. 2003 gave us a lot of outstanding music to listen to and 2004 promises to be glorious as well. But, before we begin to look ahead, it is time to take stock of the best last year offered. Here's my take.
1. Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
Those of you who know me as a death metal fiend may well be surprised by this choice. While I do tend to love the heavy stuff best, this album simply stood head and shoulders above everything this year. No other album stuck in my head as much as this did, no other possessed the depth of bleak emotion that hits you right "there" while simultaneously evoking the kind of anger that makes you feel like driving your fist through the wall. Katatonia manages to capture the emotional essence of metal, and distills it into beautiful melodies that are wonderful to behold and cathartic as well. This album may not have the overabundance of guitar distortion typically associated with metal, but it contains metal spirit in spades. An absolutely outstanding record and hands down the best of the year in my book.
2. Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad
I have to admit, I've been on a huge SYL kick this year, and this album is directly responsible. Not only is it a fantastic work in its own right, it inspired me to reach back in time and spin their older albums as well. Few albums have the power to ignite that kind of fire for their entire catalog with their new record and that is just one of the things that makes this my number 2 of the 2003.
3. Misery Index - Retaliate
This band is a live juggernaut and I had been eagerly awaiting their first full-length release for quite a while. Misery Index gave me just what I had been hoping for - an album that somehow manages to capture the brutality they deliver live. This is an astounding record from a fantastic band.
4. Skinless - From Sacrifice to Survival
Another of my favorite live death metal bands, Skinless returned this year better than ever with a beautifully produced slab of pure mayhem. Their songwriting skills have grown, their musical ability is amazing, and the riffs will tear your skin right off.
5. The Crown - Possessed 13
I've listened to this album a lot and I still keep putting it back in the player over and over. I'm not sure what it is about this album, but it is absolutely addictive. Each time I spend some time away from it, I think I've kicked the habit, but then, for one reason or another, it ends up back in my player again.
6. Exhumed - Anatomy is Destiny
Gore metal!! I love Exhumed's brand of zany super-fast death and this album far exceeded all my expectations. Fantastic musicianship + great production + amazing songs = top ten album.
7. Vital Remains - Dechristianize
My favorite underrated death metal act finally returned this year after a long hiatus and they brought with them an absolute masterpiece. It was well worth the wait and absolutely deserves a slot on this list.
8. Nasum - Helvete
There is just something about Nasum's take on grind that wins me over every time. Perhaps it's the astounding musicianship, or maybe it's the occasional spastic jazz breakdown that does the trick. Whatever the reason, I can never get enough of this band, and they illustrated why yet again this year.
9. Children of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll
I keep thinking I'll get over my addiction to this band, but it just isn't happening. I put this album into my player, hear those blistering guitar sections, and that sing-along-able screaming, and it inevitably works its way back in. Therefore, it makes it onto the list.
10. Overkill - Killbox 13
My favorite band returned this year with another killer release. Overkill has continued their streak of uncompromising thrash, proving yet again that they are as relevant today as ever. They are not on this list because they are my favorite band - they are my favorite band because the keep putting out albums that end up on my list.
Honorable mention:
It absolutely breaks my heart that I cannot include these five albums on the list above. Seriously. I literally spent days and days deliberating over the final order of these fifteen albums. They are all eminently deserving, but ten is a finite number and I'm stuck with it. Still, I am utterly incapable of walking away from this list without mentioning these as well. Five more of the best 2003 had to offer:
Dream Theater - Train of Thought
Grimfist - Ghouls of Grandeur
King Diamond - The Puppet Master
Lamb of God - As the Palaces Burn
Nevermore - Enemies of Reality
Staff Picks:
Redwolff's Top Ten:
- Edge of Sanity - Crimson II
- Opeth - Damnation
- The Black Dahlia Murder - Unhallowed
- Thessalonian Dope Gods - High Idol Pulsation
- Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
- Boris - Amplifier Worship (released in U.S. in 2003)
- Massive Attack - 100th Window
- Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad
- Rifles at Recess - To Whisper in Tongues
- NDE - End of Trust
Solomon's Top Ten:
- Zero Hour - Metamorphosis
- Cea Serin -
- Omnium Gatherum - Spirits and August Light
- Corporation 187 - Perfection in Pain
- Black Label Society - The Blessed Hellride
- Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion
- OSI - Office of Strategic Influence
- Evergrey - Recreation Day
- Children of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll
- Poison Black - Escapexstacy
Requiem's Top Ten:
- Cave In - Antenna
- The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
- The Quill - Hooray! It's a Deathtrip
- The Darkness - Permission to Land
- Aleda - On the Lips of Disaster
- Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway
- The Division Group - The Division Group
- Alchemist - Austral Alien
- Madder Mortem - Deadlands
- Cult of Luna - The Beyond
Behemoth's Top Ten:
- Naer Mataron - River at Dash Scalding
- Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon
- Madder Mortem - Deadlands
- Throcult - Soldiers Of A Blackened War
- The Legion - Awakened Fury
- Vital Remains - Dechristanize
- Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion
- The Gathering - Souvenirs
- Old Man's Child - In Defiance of Existence
- Six Feet Under - Bringer of Blood
Savage's Top Ten:
- Evanescence - Fallen
- Superjoint Ritual - A Lethal Dose of American Hatred
- Marilyn Manson - Golden Age of Grotesque
- Godhead - Evolver
- Devildriver - Devildriver
- Avenged Sevenfold - Waking the Fallen
- Chimaira - The Impossibility of Reason
- Endo - Songs for the Restless
- Dust to Dust - Sick
- Motograter - Motograter
Ember's Top Ten:
- Cave In - Antenna
- Delerium - Chimera
- Coldplay - Live 2003
- Twelfth of Never - Things That Were
- The Division Group - The Division Group
- The Quill - Hooray! It's a Deathtrip
- The Mars Volta - De-Loused in the Comatorium
- Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
- Madder Mortem - Deadlands
- Sun Kil Moon - Ghosts of the Great Highway
Sabbath's Top Ten:
- Children of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll
- Behemoth - Zos Kia Cvltvs
- Aborted - Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done
- Amorphis - Far From the Sun
- Secret Sphere - Scent of Human Desire
- Vital Remains - Dechristianize
- Requiem - The Arrival
Ghouls of Grandeur
- Therion - Live in Midgard
- The Crown - Possessed 13
Metal Militia's Top Ten:
- Circle of Dead Children - Human Harvest
- Gorgasm - Masticate to Dominate
- Deadwater Drowning - Deadwater Drowning
- Spawn of Possession - Cabinet
- Rune - The End of Nothing
- Dimentianon - Seven Suicides
- Iron Maiden - Dance of Death
- Misery Index - Retaliate
- Watchmaker - Kill.Fucking.Everything.
- Revenge - Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist
Jotun's Top Ten:
- Thursday - War All the Time
- Old Man's Child - In Defiance Of Existence
- Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon
- This Day Forward - In Response
- Waterdown - The Files You Have on Me
- Lamb of God - As the Palaces Burn
- Between the Buried and Me - The Silent Circus
- Every Time I Die - Hot Damn!
- Children of Bodom - Hate Crew Deathroll
- Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion
Famine's Top Ten:
- Watch Them Die - Watch Them Die
- The Black Dahlia Murder - Unhallowed
- Katatonia - Viva Emptiness
- Grimfist - Ghouls Of Grandeur
- The Devin Townsend Band - Accelerated Evolution
- Edge Of Sanity - Crimson II
- The Quill - Hooray! It's A Deathtrip
- Opeth - Damnation
- Agent Steel - Order of the Illuminati
- Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon
Blind's Top Ten:
- Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
- Grimfist - Ghouls of Grandeur
- Dimmu Borgir - Death Cult Armageddon
- Misery Index - Retaliate
- Aborted - Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done
- Dying Fetus - Stop at Nothing
- Lamb of God - As the Palaces Burn
- The Black Dahlia Murder - Unhallowed
- Katafalk - Storm of the Horde
- Devildriver - Devildriver
Kefka X's Top Ten:
- Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
- A Perfect Circle - Thirteenth Step
- Dream Theater - Train of Thought
- A Life Once Lost - A Great Artist
- Circle of Dead Children - Human Harvest
- Lamb of God - As the Palaces Burn
- Vital Remains - Dechristianize
- The Black Dahlia Murder - Unhallowed
- Blood Has Been Shed - Spirals
- Old Man’s Child - In Defiance of Existence
Zilla's Top Ten:
- Agent Steel - Order of the Illuminati
- Tarot - Suffer Our Pleasures
- Dream Theater - Train of Thought
- Dead Soul Tribe - A Murder of Crows
- Death Machine - Death Machine
- Cage - Darker than Black
- Ion Vein - Reigning Memories
- Lanfear - The Art Effect
- Redemption - Redemption
- Brainstorm - Soul Temptation
Black Sheep's Top Ten:
- Misery Index - Retaliate
- Psycroptic - The Scepter of the Ancients
- All Out War - Condemned to Suffer
- Gorgasm - Masticate to Dominate
- Grimfist - Ghouls of Grandeur
- Sworn Enemy - As Real as It Gets
- Skinless - From Sacrifice to Survival
- Hatebreed - The Rise of Brutality
- Vital Remains - Dechristainize
- Iron Maiden - Dance of Death
Welcome To Our Newest Summary Judgment Staffers - The Class of 2004:
Slither's Top Ten:
- Weltmacht - And to Every Beast its Prey
- Ion Dissonance - Breathing is Irrelevant
- Rune - The End of Nothing
- Moonsorrow - Kivenkantaja
- Behemoth - Zos Kia Cultus
- While Heaven Wept - Of Empires Forlorn
- Vital Remains - Dechristianize
- Leviathan - The Tenth Sublevel of Suicide
- Green Carnation - A Blessing in Disguise
- Misery Index - Retaliate
Goatwhore's Top Ten:
- Type O Negative - Life is Killing Me
- Morbid Angel - Heretic
- Superjoint Ritual - A Lethal Dose of American
Hatred
- Vital Remains - Dechristianize
- Hatebreed - The Rise of Brutality
- Diabolic - Infinity through Purification
- Cult of Luna - The Beyond
- Chimaira - The Impossibility of Reason
- Biohazard - Kill or be Killed
- King Diamond - The Puppet Master
Dguy's Top Ten:
- King Diamond - The Puppet Master
- Iron Maiden - Dance of Death
- The Decemberists - Her Majesty, the Decemberists
- Finntroll - Visor om Slutet
- Thargos - Killfukk
- The Crown - Possessed 13
- Macabre - Murder Metal
- Anaal Nathrakh - When Fire Rains Down from the Skies, Mankind Will Reap as It Has Sown
- Aborym - With No Human Intervention
- Exhumed - Anatomy is Destiny
Lugubrious's Top Ten:
- Lamb of God - As the Palaces Burn
- Opeth - Damnation
- Passenger - Passenger
- Poison Black - Escapexstacy
- Strapping Young Lad - Strapping Young Lad
- Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion
- The CruxShadows - Ethernaut
- Old Man's Child - In Defiance of Existence
- Skinless - From Sacrifice to Survival
- Exhumed - Anatomy is Destiny
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