It’s that time of year again. As 2014 draws to a close, we check in with the Metal Insider staff to see what new albums got them the most excited. The next list we’ll be looking at is Nick DeSimone’s.
I should preface this by saying that the bulk of this list should be taken with a grain of salt. Way too much came out this year in the way of fantastic heavy records, so you should interpret my “top 10” as “the first 8 or so things I thought of offhand.” Don’t let that take away from how much I love these records; the quality is what’s worth talking about here.
10) At The Gates, At War With Reality
You just can’t deny these riffs. As someone that’s spent a lot of time around this music, between growing up during a great deal of post-ATG melodeath popularity and playing a similar style for a while, I’ll tell you this much: I’ve heard a lot of melodic death and most of it doesn’t dazzle me anymore. That being said, “Head of the Hydra” might be the best riff in this style I’ve ever heard. That alone is worth something, but the rest is equally brilliant.
Key track “The Head of the Hydra”
9) Toothgrinder, Schizophrenic Jubilee
A 15-minute Molotov cocktail of what in the sweet shit how does this keep getting better the longer I listen? Toothgrinder cover an incredible amount of time in a very short EP; they hit the perfect sweet spot between Converge and Dillinger Escape Plan – spastic and song-focused in equal measures
Key track: “Relic of my Youth”
8) Xerath, III
I sadly slept on this band for a hot minute. The grooves on III are RAZOR-sharp, the orchestral arrangements compliment the songs rather than feel tacked-on, it’s just an incredibly well-realized metal record altogether.
Key track: I Hunt For the Weak”
