Top 10 Albums of 2016

So we're finally at the end of 2016 and in terms of music it's been another solid year, I admittedly haven't listened to as much as I usually do, but I've managed to check out the things I'm most interested in and in turn have listened to some damn great albums. So here's my top 10 albums of 2016 and as usual expect it to just be made up of metal and prog.

Honourable Mentions

Alcest - Kodama

Serenity - Codex Atlanticus

Opeth - Sorceress

Megadeth - Dystopia

10. Circus Maximus - Havoc

Circus Maximus are a prog band I've never been all that into but I've always liked certain songs here and there, now with this new album Circus Maximus have a evolved their sound somewhat leading to a really good album. Now honestly when I first heard a track off it, I didn't think I was gonna like it much, but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed it and the more times I listen to it, the more I appreciate it. I think it's their best effort to date and show a band slowly trying to shift out of it's generic trends.

9. Sonata Arctica - Ninth Hour

The ninth album from one of my favorite bands and while it's not as great or as memorable as their previous effort (which is probably my favourite Sonata album), it's still a strong effort which shows the bands consistency, as one of the most unique power metals going today, their sound may not have evolved much here but they are still damn good at what they do.

8. Redemption - The Art Of Loss

Some straight up prog metal goodness here, featuring a range of guest guitarists filling in for the medically absent Bernie Versailles. The Art Of Loss is a very solid effort that pretty much sticks to the usual Redemption formula but never gets stale throughout it's 75 minute runtime. Just some damn good Prog metal that always makes my ears happy.

7. Insominium - Winter's Gate

This Latest album from Insomnium consists of just 1 single 40 minute track (though in some versions it is split into parts) and it is pretty darn great, just some awesome straight up melodic folk death metal that keeps you engaged throughout.

6. Death Angel - The Evil Divide

Death Angel deliver another great straight up thrash metal record, one that I think is better than their previous effort, but still not as great as Relentless Revolution. It has that familiar modern death angel sound that we've heard for a good number of years now and I personally love it and it never gets tiresome,as they always find a way to keep it interesting. Great stuff.

5. Dream Theater - The Astonishing

 Clocking in at a might 130 minutes, Dream Theater took a risk with their latest epic concept album and while it has split alot of people, I personally really liked it alot. While it's not something I can listen to fully often, I don't think it drags at all or has one bad track. I also find the lack of super long songs(the longest here being 7.40) a nice change of pace which I think is what helped make the album work so well. This album may be too much Dream Theater for some, but I think its a strong effort and I commend the band for what they managed to achieve.

4. Testament - Brotherhood Of The Snake

 Testament deliver one of their heaviest and arguably their best modern album to date. A straight up thrash metal assault with great riffs, vocals and everything. I was expecting something good but this far exceeded my expectations, everything just works and the return of some of the heavier elements we've seen before are happily welcome back. Just one of the best thrash records of the year.

3. Watchtower - Concepts of Maths: Book One

Okay, so this is technically an EP(and nearly all but 1 of the songs were released in 2015 as singles), but it was too good not to have on this list, Watchtower were one of the early forerunners of the tech metal genre and haven't released an album in almost 30 years, so this EP is a welcome return and absolutely awesome, featuring all the tech metal goodness the band are known for this, the 29 minutes flies by and leaves you wanting more and one can only hope that this is only taster of things to come,as this band are still as great as they've ever been.

2. Vektor - Terminal Redux

 This was very darn close to having the top spot in this list and in many ways it should be.Vektor are probably the best modern thrash band going today, their definitely one of the most creative and unique bands in the genre and every release has been outstanding. and this album is no different a cosmic thrash attack that is truly superb. The bands vocals do still grate on me a little every now and again but that's more down to my hearing rather than a criticism. Either way this is from start to finish a great listen and I highly recommend it to all fans of thrash alike.

1. Epica - Holographic Principle

Since first hearing The Quantum Enigma in 2014, Epic have quickly grew into one of my favourite bands, playing a brand of bombastic symphonic metal that I can't help but love and this album delivers exactly that yet again. While Quantum Enigma still remains my favourite by far, this is still a really great album from the beautiful vocals of Simone Simons to the great riffs and overt symphonics. This album has everything I want to keep my ears happy, I especially love the track Beyond the Matrix which might well also be my favourite song of the year. Just another great effort from a truly great band that are masters of their genre.

So that's 2016 list, I look forward to hearing more great music in 2017 and there are already a dozen of albums coming out that I highly anticipate will deliver that.
I'm hoping to deliver my top 10 film list today aswell, watch out for that one.
See you next post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Office Christmas Party (2016)

Office Christmas Party is exactly what it says on the tin, but that Tin is cheap, tacky and pretty darn useless. The films primary function is to make us laugh, but not once during its 105 minute runtime did I even laugh besides a slight smirk every now and again. I knew what to expect but I just struggled to connect to it, so all the humour just fell flat despite the cast having a good go at it. The film is honestly one of the worst I've seen this year, I went in looking for a fun time and I just got nothing, I'm sure it'll work better for alot of other people but for me this was a failure of a comedy.
*

Your Name (2016)

This latest offering from Makoto Shinkai is a piece of brilliance and perhaps the best film I have seen this year. It is a beautiful Sci-fi/Fantasy drama that is full of great drama, humour and emotion. The characters are super likable and you can't help but care for them. The film is also visually stunning with both natural and city landscapes looking absolutely gorgeous. Sure it may be a little sappy but I had no problems with that all.
It's also a very thematically rich and current movie dealing with our connections and relationships with people, an outlook of traditional and modern japanese culture and in some ways the breaking down of gender barriers.
From the get go it's just an engrossing experience with it's story constantly feeding our intrigue. It's just fantastic and I highly recommend it.
*****

Moana (2016)

Here's the latest animated offering from Disney, a beautiful musical adventure with a Polynesian setting. Visually the film is stunning, the vibrant CGI really makes the locations come alive with everything looking top notch. The voice acting is also solid, with a great debut for Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson bringing his usual likeable charisma, as well as a good support cast including the much welcomed talents of Jemaine Clement.
The musical score is also really good and consistent and fits in super well with the film overall, with none of the character songs ever feeling like a chore to get through.
Now the films plot is formulaic and doesn't cover much new ground, but it's so well executed with all it's other elements that the films stays super enjoyable from start to finish, also I'm sure it's message of female empowerment is sure to resonate well with audiences. Overall another solid effort from Disney.

The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

Her we have a nice little teen comedy-drama from Kelly Fremon Craig in her directorial debut. It's a solidly made film that's well written with a strong leading performance from Hailee Steinfeld and a good supporting cast. It's not without it's cliches or predictability but what makes it work well is the how genuine the characters feel making us care about them and their situation more. There's a good balance of drama and humour both of which are executed well, though I do feel the films more emotional moments aren't as hard hitting as they should have been. But overall this is a really good teen comedy drama, that I'd recommend especially to fans of this particular genre. ***1/2