As the music year comes to an end with this week’s releases, it’s time to take a look back at the past 11 months and two days. While you’ll be getting our picks in due time, we wanted to first turn things over to some of the people making that music. To that end, here are Upon a Burning Body’s Danny Leal, Abysmal Dawn’s Charles Elliot, comedian, That Metal Show co-host and Metal Blade recording artist Don Jamieson and Cripper’s Britta Görtz, who offered some non-album picks. Stay tuned throughout the week as we continue to bring you more artists’ picks for the year in 2014 metal.
Danny Leal of Upon a Burning Body
1) Upon A Burning Body, The World Is My Enemy Now
2) Slipknot, .5: The Gray Chapter
3) Avatar, Hail The Apocalypse
4) Nothing More, Nothing More
5) Echosmith, Talking Dreams
6) Aborted, The Necrotic Manifesto
7) Sia, 1000 Forms Of Fear
8) Arctic Monkeys, AM
Charles Elliot of Abysmal Dawn
Cannibal Corpse – A Skeletal Domain
Insomnium – Shadow of the Dying Sun
Archspire – The Lucid Collective
Sanctuary – The Year the Sun Died
Narcotic Wasteland – Narcotic Wasteland
Inferi – The Path of Apotheosis
The Haunted – Exit Wounds
Vader – Tibi Et Igni
Aborted – The Necrotic ManifestoOrigin – Omnipresent
Honorable mentions:
Misery Index – The Killing Gods
Triptykon – Melana Chasmata
Belphegor – Conjuring the Dead
Don Jamieson
1) Death Angel, The Dream Calls For Blood
2) Prong, Ruining Lives
3) Overkill, White Devil Armory
4) Triptykon, Melana Chasmata
5) Kyng Burn The Serum
6) Nashville Pussy, Up The Dosage
7) John 5, Careful With That Axe
8) California Breed, CB
9. Monte Pittman ‘Power Of Three’
10. Mount Salem ‘Endless’
Britta Görtz of Cripper
Top 10 Concerts
1. Faith No More at Hyde Park Festival
2. Devin Townsend Project at Brutal Assault
3. The Ocean at Brutal Assault
4. Devin Townsend Project at Summer Breeze
5. The Haunted at 70.000 tons of Metal
6. Anneke van Giersbergen at Summer Breeze
7. Opeth at Metaldays
8. Einstürzende Neubauten at Hannover
9. Down at Brutal Assault
10. Lady Gaga at Hamburg
Top 10 most memorable things organizers said in 2014
1. Do you mind if Amon Amarth’s dragons are on stage during your set?
2. No one expects you to play sober.
3. We don’t have water.
4. Just leave your gear outside, someone will bring it in later.
5. Do not stack used cups.
6. Please sign here for the towels I gave you.
7. Do you want dope?
8. Do you have dope?
9. I never got your stage rider.
10. But your manager said… [We don’t have a manager]