Jeremy's Top 5 of 2016 (So Far)
When it comes to best of lists, timeframes may seem inherently arbitrary, but there is in fact an internal consistency within the release schedules of most record labels: the biggest touring season is during the summer, so by midway through the year a disproportionate number of 2016's most notable releases have already been unleashed upon the world (most bands naturally preferring that their fans have had a chance to absorb their new material before springing it on them live). So June is always a good time to stop and take the pulse of the year's slate thus far. Many of these will recur on our year end lists as well, but there are a number of strong releases scheduled for the remainder of the year (including an unknowable amount of albums that haven't even been announced yet), among them Kayo Dot, Psalm Zero, Despised Icon, Periphery, Revocation and numerous others. Take these top 5 lists, then, as not only a review of what's come so far, but also as the bar to which the remainder of the year's releases will need to aspire.
Note that for the purposes of these lists we chose this Friday, June 17th as the cut off for street date on any albums included, as many of us have already begun receiving advance promos for July and August releases as well but we had to draw the line somewhere.
Gojira – Magma
The only conceivable criticism of this album is that it fails to take Gojira in new directions, it being a fairly direct (if belated) follow up to 2012' s L'Enfaunt Savage, but this is less a case of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and more a case of Gojira simply having much more to say within their own recently self-imposed formula. What Magma lacks in novelty or adventurousness it more than makes up for in bulletproof consistency and exquisite songcraft.
Katatonia – The Fall of Hearts
More often than not when a formerly extreme metal band starts to soften their sound, however gradually, I admire the willingness to take risks more than I admire the actual finished product. Not so with Katatonia's output over the past decade, one of those rare bodies of work where the execution is every bit as potent as the creative intent. The band may not be the most prolific in terms of brand new studio material, but the care and attention to detail is what sets Katatonia apart from their peers.
Rorcal – Creon
By now it's probably become clear that I tend to favor the more experimental side of metal in regards to lists like these. It's not so much that I don't enjoy a perfectly predictable album that merely scratches an existing itch, it's more that the singular nature of these genre-pushing efforts stick out more for me just on the basis of the difficulty in making direct comparisons to other albums. No apologies there, but if you can make a cogent case that the latest tech metal wunderkind differentiate themselves from the rest of the Willowtip/Unique Leader brigade more substantially than Rorcal stand apart from… whoever the hell their immediate peers should be, then I will definitely reconsider that point come December.
Purson – Desire's Magic Theatre
I completely understand that Purson are just that much more left-of-the-dial than many metal fans are willing to go with, this latest effort traveling even further back in time than similarly retro hard rock acts like Blood Ceremony and Graveyard to embrace the elaborate psych-pop sounds of late 60's bands The Strawbs and Pretty Things…. but I also think the very role of albums like Desire's Magic Theatre are to act as a bridge to new experiences, giving the listener something they are already familiar with (woozy proto-metal) while simultaneously opening their ears to new sounds as well. When done correctly this serves to broaden the listener's tastes as a whole, as they may now have an appetite for that new sound without need of the already liked element to put it over. Either way, Desire's Magic Theatre scores points not for its potential but for its realization, a lovingly crafted time capsule beholden only partially to bands of old, and more directly to a vision of their own.
Cobalt – Slow Forever
At some point in cobbling together these lists I usually start to get a little self-conscious: am I retreading too many obvious picks that are likely to be echoed on everyone else's list as well? Do I have an obligation to use this space to tip people off to stuff they may not picked up on rather than just reinforcing what everyone already loves? In the end I always remind myself this is a "best of" list and not an "underrated" one, so fuck it… Cobalt have given us the most expansive, comprehensively ambitious album 2016 has seen so far, and they deserve to be applauded for it, no matter how many sets of hands may be giving it up in unison.
I'm not big on honorable mentions myself – if you've got a top 10 plus 5 honorable mentions isn't that really just a top 15 then? – but in the interests of making this an honest attempt to encapsulate the first half of 2016 (rather than just a cheerleading contest) here are a few of my disappointments for this year so far. Keep in mind these are not my picks for "worst" albums of the year – there are so many shitty releases in any given that it's a fool's errand to try to isolate the lessest of them all – but simply ones that I had much higher hopes for than turned out to be realized:
- Cult of Luna + Julie Christmas – Mariner: yes, I realize I'm so deep into the minority on this one that many of you will assume I'm trolling, but my sincere opinion is that this is actually a fairly stellar album marred significantly by Christmas' out-of-place vocals. Oil and water to me, but to each their own
- Entombed A.D. – Dead Dawn: I quite dug 2014's Back to the Front, which coupled the closest return to form that we've seen from any incarnation of Entombed since the mid-90's with a decent clatch of catchy songs to boot, but very little on Dead Dawn stood out for me at all… even after several listens I still haven't managed to shake the initial impression that this album is kind of a hollow retread of its predecessor.
- Boris with Merzbow – Gensho: I'm not even entirely sure that it's fair to put this one on here, as it isn't the first time either have collaborated, and individually both have seen their fair share of inconsistency… but the sheer length of this one (148 minutes!) as well as the intermittent excellence that can be found buried here and there for the most patient of listeners means that Gensho is a classic exercise in untamed excess. A little judicious editing could have whittled this down to a single CD length that might have vied for Album of the Year instead of Goat of the Week.
