Top 12 albums of 2012: Numbers 12-10

Picking the top albums of any year can be a tricky business, especially when you don't ascribe to any one genre of music.  Literally thousands of new albums are released every year, and from such a large pool, every list will be very different.  The following few posts will be my picks for the top 12 albums of 2012.  I will pick the very best of each full-length album I have heard (in my opinion) and briefly review it here, as well as embed players of a select song from each album.  This is a fun activity both to write about and to read about.  So, without further ado, here are numbers 12 through 10 on my end-of-year list.

12. Sybreed-God is an Automaton.  Sybreed has, over the years, crafted a unique sound the embodies elements from both extreme metal and new wave music.  This new genre is dubbed 'deathwave'.  Vocals switch between uplifting and soaring clean vocals to vicious screams amid chugging metal riffing, blast beats, and near constant synths to give the music a powerful, epic vibe.  Sybreed has released three full-length albums, and this is their best effort yet.  The music sounds dark and is extremely riveting.  The eye-catching cover art was created by Seth Siro Anton of Septicflesh, who has a distinctive style.  Check out the track I have selected below.  This illustrates what Sybreed is all about in my opinion.

11. Between the Buried and Me-The Parallax II:Future Sequence.  This full-length album is a follow-up to the band's previous EP, "The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogs".  This disc is a progressive behemoth that is flush with energy and emotion.  From face-ripping roars to melodic cleans, the vocals are as good as any progressive metal band.  The energy of the music is powerful progressive metal with death-like leanings and peaceful melodic passages.  Upon listening to the song below, you should understand why this album made my year-end list.  It was highly anticipated from the get-go and did not disappoint.


10. Katatonia-Dead end Kings.  Katatonia has roots in mostly solemn, doom metal.  The new dist presents these elements of doom and mixes them with more refined progressive rock tendencies.  This album is fantastic from start to finish and does not contain a single poor track,  Each song is rich with melancholic melody and strong baritone vocals unlike any other band.  This Swedish band knows how to make high-grade music that toes the line between genres.  The track below is indicative of the entire record's sound.  You will be hooked. 


Thanks for reading, everyone and stay tuned for part two of my list coming tomorrow!

Griseus-Aquilus reveiw

Rarely do I find music I find interesting enough to share at No Clean Singing.  I still like that website for the off chance that I will find some entertaining metal, but those moments are growing fewer and further between.  Those of you who know me (or if you haven't guessed yet) know that I'm not fond of 'generic' music at all.  By 'generic' I do not mean that it sounds just like someone else or even dozens of other acts.  What I mean by 'generic' is that it simply conforms too much to the standards of the genre which they choose to perform.  These guidelines get to be much too rigid for too many bands.  And while NCS does cover a wide range of metal, most of it of the extreme category, too much of it is dull and uninteresting in my opinion.

Griseus is a one-man Aussie alternative metal act by Howard "Waldorf" Rosenqvist.  The genre they most associate with is darkened neoclassical folk, whatever that is. 

When I first saw the album cover for "Aquilus", I shrugged, thinking that this was just another black metal band.  Still, I read the review.  And when I did, I was interested enough to listen.  Dabbling equally in post-romanticism, folksy acoustical moments, and atmospheric extreme metal, Griseus manages to convey many different emotions in several styles of music that mesh surprisingly well.

This disc is not your standard fare for symphonic metal.  Most pieces are long, orchestral works with wailing electric guitars and loudly shrieked vocals, which creates a dark and unusually harmonic sound.  This is an album you must hear to believe.  There is no operatic singing, and the metal aspect is less pronounced than you might expect.  This is both a disturbing and memorably beautiful listening experience.  If you do not like extreme vocals at all, there is a chance you won't like this.  However, the vocals are mostly highlights rather than constant roars and shredding howls. 

This record is very unlike anything I have heard.  This project is nothing like SepticFlesh or Mechina or Epica.  It is a beautiful work that stands on its own.  Even if you do not normally listen to music you have never heard before, this might be worth your while. 

For your listening pleasure, the entire album stream, courtesy of Griseus' bandcame page, is below.  Enjoy and let us know what you think.  As always, thanks for reading!