Top 25 Albums of 2011: 25 - 11

Top 25 Albums of 2011
25 - 11

Well, 2011 is finally over and good riddance!  It was a crappy year.  Death took one of men I admire most in Christopher Hitchens, and things here in Puerto Rico couldn't be much worse.  Thankfully, these 25 albums have helped to soothe the fact that it was one lame year.  Hope you enjoy this list.  Even if only one of the albums of the list reach someone who had never heard it before then my job is done.  Remember, this is just my list.  I love music and there will be different kinds of genres represented here, leaning more towards rock than anything else.

25)

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two

by Beastie Boys

The Beastie Boys are one of those hip hop groups reviled by a lot of the scene.  I don't claim to know a lot about hip hop.  The truth is that I'm not much into the scene but the Beastie Boys have always been a group that I pay attention to.  After more than 30 years of playing and rapping together, the B-Boys have released an album that is relevant and frankly, just loads of fun.  Tracks like "Say It" show that these 40 somethings still have an ear on what works.  The scratching on this song and on the other songs by regular Mix Master Mike is catchy and you will find it hard not to let the tracks here seduce you into enjoying them completely.  Other than that, it must be said that even after a couple of years of working on this record (Part 1 was supposed to be released a few years back but MCA got diagnosed with cancer) and it doesn't sound stale at all.  It's still Beastie Boys at their best.  Also, still some of the best music videos in the business!

24)

Welcome 2 My Nightmare

by Alice Cooper

The King of Shock Rock is back with the sequel to one of his seminal albums, Welcome to My Nightmare.  Alice Cooper has been going strong for the better part of 45 years and he still has the ear for music that made him big in the first place.  This album really does a good job in not emulating the original but basically churning out songs that while keeping on the same concept speak to the audience from today rather than just fans of the original.  The songs are all pretty catchy and fun.  Stuff like "Caffeine" is what I mean.  Can't help but sing it to myself whenever I'm tired at work.  The southern style of "A Runaway Train" is also aimed to please.  The thing about this album is that it seems primed to be acted on stage like only Alice Cooper can.  The songs, while differing in their styles, feel like they belong together and that makes this a strong album.

23)

War of the Roses

by Ulver

If you have never heard of Ulver, you are probably not alone.  This band from Norway is a difficult one to peg in a single genre as their discography is incredibly varied and they make sure that no two albums are the same.  From their folk infused black metal beginnings to what is probably one of their most mature efforts to date, Ulver can't be accused of being in a rut.  I first got into them through vocalist Kristoffer Rygg, better known as Garm.  I was lucky enough to run into a track of the new Arcturus album (back in 2002) and loved the hell out of it.  Through him I also got into Borknagar and Ulver.  This is not an album that is easy to get into.  It will take a couple of listens through it whole in order to appreciate its complexity.  There is no easily digestible mainstream rock/metal here.  After you get it, you will understand why this album is so fantastic.  My favorite track after a few listens is "Providence".  There is something about the way the Garm's vocals are complimented by the female vocals in this track.  Give this a shot.

22)

3rd Round Knockout

by Chrome Division

Once upon a time (2004), in Norway, Dimmu Borgir's vocalist Shagrath was interested in playing something more than just symphonic black metal.  He began to jam and soon enough a band was formed.  Chrome Division takes everything that is good from bands like Black Label Society and especially Motorhead and make it even dirtier.  The music was completely traditional metal more akin to the aforementioned Motorhead than any other band.  I have to admit that this kind of metal has always attracted me.  There is something about the leather and the girls with big boobs and the biker culture that I enjoy and this band embodies all of that.  For this album, the band switched vocalist Eddie Guz for Susperia's Shady Blue and while he can also do the vocals nicely, Guz's more growling vocals seemed to fit the almost grimy and sweaty feeling you get when listening to this band.  Like you have been on the desert roads for days on end riding on your Harley.  While this particular album seems a lot more polished, it is still a lot of fun to listen to.  These guys don't take themselves too seriously and that makes me enjoy them even more.  While the first single is ok, it is the next two songs of the album ("7 G-Strings" and "Join the Ride") that really make you want to continue listening.

21)

Oceana

by Derek Sherinian

Derek Sherinian has played with a lot of people.  He has played with Planet X, Yngwie Malmsteem, Billy Idol, KISS, Alice Cooper and Dream Theater aside from his solo projects.  This particular one is his seventh solo album and I finally got what I wanted to hear.  He always invites guest musicians on his albums and he always has top notch guitarists, but this is probably the first time he bursts out of his shell and actually puts the keyboards front and center.  For this album, he moved away from the metal stylings of the previous albums and instead decided to go more blues rock and fusion.  With guest guitarists like Steve Lukather, Doug Aldrich, Tony Macalpine, Steve Stevens and the pretty awesome Joe Bonamassa (whose 2011 album Dust Bowl is also worth a listen), it was obvious where this one was leaning.  This is instrumental stuff though, so if you don't really like that kind of stuff, you should probably stay away.

20)

The Beginning of Times 

by Amorphis

Amorphis is one of those bands that I have been quietly following for a long time now.  I remember buying their album Tales from the Thousand Lakes and really enjoying their brand of melodic death metal.  Their use of the cleaner vocals and the acoustic guitars made me more interested in it than most of the bands of similar genres.  After that, they changed vocalists released an album that I really praise as one of their most mature to date.  Am Universum is very different from their past work, it was incredibly experimental and they toyed with the saxophone and other progressive elements.  Those two styles converged to make what is the Amorphis of today.  The songs are not as heavy as they once were and the vocals aren't always clean.  They do a good job of switching between the two without making it sound forced.  Tracks like "Song of the Sage" show this clearly.  They also implement the folk elements that separated them from the pack back in the days.  Keyboardist Santelli Kallio really shines in this album.  If there is one gripe I might have is that vocalist Tommy Joutsen really doesn't have the range with the clean vocals that Pasi Koskinen, but I don't think that Koskinen's vocal style would be good for this style of Amorphis (also, Joutsen is more versatile).  Either way, the sound is epic, and of course, it couldn't have been an Amorphis album if the lyrics weren't about Finnish mythology.

19)

Dualism

by Textures

There are two great things about doing a list like this.  One is that you listen to a lot of albums.  A lot of them.  Most of them are just good to mediocre, but a couple of them are fantastic.  The second one is that you discover some bands that you had never heard before.  With the amount of bands getting albums released, it is almost impossible to keep up with it all.  Textures is one such band.  I was reading a list of prog metal albums released in 2011 and happened to stumble upon the cover of this album.  Something about it drew me in.  I listened to their single "Singularity" and was immediately hooked.  This Dutch band touches all the right buttons and manages to do something that rarely happens.  They made me think their -core-ish vocals didn't ruin the whole thing.  The music here is just top notch progressive metal with a harder edge.  Their use of progressive elements to contrast with their (most of the time) harsh vocals works perfectly here.  The truth is that the band shines the most when forgoing their -core vocals and focusing on their clean ones as the track "Reaching Home" shows.  I will definitely be looking out for more of the stuff in the future.

18)

Stand Up and Fight

by Turisas

Another group of Finns make my list.  This time, the group is of the symphonic folk metal type, but there is much more to this group than what meets the eye.  While other bands that mix death and folk metal are a constant barrage of heaviness (not that it is a bad thing... Surtur Rising from Amon Amarth is another album to check out), Turisas mixes that up with epic anthemic passages that make you want to... stand up and fight (or at the very least put up a sword like object and slash at random inanimate objects).  This is a very interesting band.  There are moments that make you feel like you are watching a Broadway play about killing.  Some people might be put off by that, but I think it helps to give this album a whole new dimension.  It's also a lot like listening to a role playing game's soundtrack or even a movies.  Listen to the fourth track "Venetoi! - Prasenoi!" and revel on the pomposity of the movie score-like music.   Give this album a chance and let it grow on you.  Besides, what is better than Vikings raping and pillaging!?  

17)

Road Salt Two

by Pain of Salvation

Daniel Gildenlöw really took his 70s prog rock influences to heart here.  We have to face it.  Pain of Salvation is not the same band that it was when they recorded the awesome Remedy Lane.  They have been there and done that.  If there is something that Daniel has shown us is that he is constantly evolving as a musician and he doesn't want to do the same things for too long.  I was afraid this album would be so similar to the first one that it would be lost in the shuffle, but I'm glad that it is not.  What has always driven Pain of Salvation's albums to me has always been the passion with which Gildenlöw sings.  The faster tracks and the mellow ones are sung with the same intensity.  I like that.  Mostly acoustic tracks like "Healing Now" are a pleasure to listen to not only because of Daniel's vocals, but because the music is haunting and beautiful.  Also, musical interludes like the one at the 4 minute mark on the track "Eleven" are just so clever and entertaining that its hard to dislike. Listen to this album, but don't listen to it expecting another Remedy Lane or you will be sorely disappointed.  Instead listen to it for what it is... a fantastic progressive rock album.

16)

Bilateral

by Leprous

I only wish I could have found this band a couple of months back, because then it would have made my list for the Misnamed bands.  Leprous (or something relating to leprosy) is a progressive metal band from Norway that is light on the metal and heavy on the progressive.  I thought that with that name this would surely be one of those extreme metal bands that do tried and true stuff that hasn't changed or evolved in 20 years.  I have never been so glad that I was so mistaken.  I don't really know what you would call this type of music these days.  Sure, the elements of 70s prog rock are there, but there is an obvious feeling of 'newness' about it.  Like if King Crimson and Opeth met one night and fucked and out came Leprous.  There are some moments where the vocals turn pretty growling and extreme but it never detracts from the music, and they instead make those harder passages work for them.  I guess Progressive Metal seems to be the best way to describe them.  Every song is like an acid trip on its own.  Don't be surprised if a trumpet also sneaks in on a couple of tracks completely out of nowhere and just as welcome.

 

15)

Iconoclast

by Symphony X

Symphony X have been making music for almost 20 years now and they still seem to be going strong basically the same formula that made them get big back in 1997 when they released The Divine Wings of Tragedy.  Their style is a mixture of the staples of the Power Metal genre and those of Progressive Metal joining into one glorious band with some great albums, of which this one is one.  One of my favorite things about Symphony X has always been the skills of the musicians and their ability to showcase them without it detracting form the songs.  They don't just play fast, they play with purpose.  From the get-go, the first track of the album (also it's title track) is a 10 minute attack to all your senses.  Russell Allen, like always, is in top notch form, delivering with aggressiveness when needed and otherwise when the time calls for it.  The musicians all do a fantastic job.  Michael Romero especially on the guitar, with some blistering riffs and solos that just about make this album a must listen.  But the one that probably should be considered the breakthrough star of this album is keyboardist Michael Pinnella.  This is classic Symphony X with a little bit of an edge.  Enjoy.

14)

Glasnost

by Illuminatus

Post-metal is something you probably started hearing not too long ago.  As a genre, it has never really taken off or had some major band that really took them to some other echelon.  Isis is probably the closest thing to that.  To me it sounds an awful lot like doom metal with a mixture of atmospheric metal sounds and metalcore (although not always) vocals.  This album is probably one of the best examples of the genre in recent years.  The downtuned guitars and slow tempo might be boring for some people, but it doesn't take away from the heaviness.  All the songs seem to be moving towards a huge climax... or a couple.  This was the first time I had ever heard the band Illuminatus, but I'm glad I did find the cover interesting.  This is an intense album through and through and even though there are moments or relative un-heaviness, it doesn't take long for the guitars to kick in and the vocals to roar through your speakers.  This is really a complete album and one metal music fans shouldn't miss.

13)

2
by Black Country Communion

Back in 2009 a supergroup released an album to great sales.  Chickenfoot was born.  Everyone was paying attention.  In 2010, another supergroup was formed.  I never heard about it.  Black Country Communion is a collaboration between Glenn Hughes (vocals/bass; ex-Deep Purple and solo work), Joe Bonamassa (guitar; mostly solo work), Jason Bonham (drums; Foreigner and UFO and also the son of Led Zeppelin's late drummer John Bonham) and Derek Sherinian (keyboards; solo work, Dream Theater among others).  This is an interesting group of people getting together and sharing their individual talents in order to make a band work.  You can obviously hear some Zeppelin in here, but never in a way to make you feel like this is just a Zep worship group.  Bonamassa gives the group the blues chops with his guitar playing and Sherinian does his best to give the band a nice harder edge but never overpowers.  This is definitely a group effort as they all seemingly seamlessly weave their different styles and backgrounds into one well balanced band with some fantastic music.

12)

Mammoth

by Beardfish

This is another of those bands that I was able to discover through this search for my favorite albums of 2011.  Besides the incredibly weird name for a band, the album art immediately drew me in.  After all the aesthetics of the name and album cover, the band is joy to listen to.  This Swedish band plays a style of progressive metal that is a lot more progressive than metal.  While you can definitely easily find the influence of early 70s prog rock acts like YES and ELP, there is also a little bit of the more modern prog sound from bands like The Flower Kings.  The music here is full of emotion as you can easily tell from the intro to the 15 minute track "And the Stone Said 'If I Could Speak'".  There are some moments where they go for some harsh vocals and it works fine.  There is nothing self serving or masturbatory about this album or as far as I could tell from this band.  This is not about showing how the members are all the best at whichever instrument they play, but it is about making beautiful music.  It takes a couple of listens to actually get everything that is to be appreciated from their music, but once you do, you will be hooked.   

11)

Mortal Man

by Zed Head

Who would have thought that one of my favorite albums of 2011 would come in the form of old school blues rock... from Toronto.  These guys play a southern style that is hard to come by in this day and age.  An obvious throwback to those bands that liked to play fun, infectious music.  It almost feels like ZZ Top and Stevie Ray Vaughan playing together.  Every sound Neil Chapman's guitar makes and every time Bob Adams blows on his harp, the music you hear is soulful and deep.  Of course, these guys have a nice sense of humor and the lyrics portray it.  There are no really deep lyrics to find here, but you might instead find something that is instead playful.  Songs about drinking and women are a staple.  I also like the The Fogman's vocals.  They are clean and with a lot of feeling but at the same time have a raspy finish that gives the band a more grimy exterior.  No band that plays this style of music should ever feel to polished.  Too much perfection really goes against what this bands seems to stand for.  Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the members are not talented musicians, because they are and they show it.  Who would have thunk it.  Canadian southern blues rock... still feels weird to say.

This is it for the picks 25 through 11.  All that are left are the Top 10 and you'll want to keep checking us out for those.  Some really fantastic albums make that list pretty special.  Hope you enjoy some of these albums and hopefully you can find something that interests you here.

25) Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by Beastie Boys
24) Welcome 2 My Nightmare by Alice Cooper
23) War of the Roses by Ulver
22) 3rd Round Knockout by Chrome Division
21) Oceana by Derek Sherinian
20) The Beginning of Times by Amorphis
19) Dualism by Textures
18) Stand Up and Fight by Turisas
17) Road Salt Two by Pain of Salvation
16) Bilateral by Leprous
15) Iconoclast by Symphony X
14) Glasnost by Illuminatus
13) 2 by Black Country Communion
12) Mammoth by Beardfish
11) Mortal Man by Zed Head