Honorable Mention: Saint Vitus, Lillie: F-65 (2012)
The best thing about the first album from Saint Vitus in 17 years? That nobody really expected it to happen. It had been ages since the LA-based doom merchants called it quits, and even after the band first reformed for a handful of shows in 2003, it’s not like an album was super high up on the priority list. The loss of drummer Armando Acosta in 2010 certainly didn’t make it look like any new music was coming, either. Enter drummer Henry Vasquez (Sourvein) and new label (Season of Mist), however, and here we are in 2012 with a new album from them. The album sounds like it could have come out at any point in their career, with Scott “Wino” Weinrich’s bluesy howl giving the album a world-weary soulfulness.
Favorite Track: “Let Them Fall”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnsjhcVHZg0[/youtube]
