Top 10 Albums Of The Year - 2011 (Part 2)

After Part 1 of my Top 10 Albums Of The Year – 2011, where we went through No.10 to No.6, its all down to the Top 5. This list really gave me a hard time to come up with and I had to think long and hard about this, but it really has come to these 5 gems.

So here it is, the Top 5 Albums Of The Year – 2011.

Drum roll, please…

5. Textures - Dualism

Its no secret I'm a huge Textures fan. Their last album Silhouettes is one of my all time favorite albums. There wasn't a single flaw in the album and in every sense, it was perfect. With Dualism, they expanded on the idea of having more space on the album, using more atmospheric effects and droning guitars to create atmosphere. But after all, they're a math-metal band, so there is still a lot of technicality as well and the album has some of the most amazing riffs and drumming I've heard all year. It does have a lot more "space" (the term the band uses) in it compared to the last album, which sometimes seems unnecessary but at certain points creates an awesome atmosphere. Yet the album is still technical, riff heavy and strangely, very catchy. This album also has one of my favorite tracks of the year, "Singularity", which has the best drumming I've heard all year round (apart from Decapitated's "Homo Sum" of course). But then their vocalist and keyboardist left in 2010 and Textures sadly isn't the same for me any more. Which is the only reason why this album doesn't go any higher than 5th place. 

Stand out tracks are "Singularity", "Reaching Home", "Burning The Midnight Oil", "Minor Earth, Major Skies" and "Sanguine Draws The Oath".

4. Last Chance To Reason - Level 2

If you're a gaming nerd like I am, then you need to check out Last Chance To Reason. No, wait. Let me rephrase that. If you're a nerd in any sense, then you need to check out Last Chance To Reason. This is one of the best prog-metal albums to come out this year. One of the main reasons I loved this album is the vocals. Michael Lessard is without a doubt one of the best vocalists in the metal genre right now. Picture this, if Michael Bublé did metal, this is exactly how he would sound like. The dude has insane range! Though, the vocals were really the selling point for me, that's not to say the music isn't good. On the contrary, the music is great! The tracks are very well-written and complicated as hell with different time signatures and the riffs are also heavy and as complicating as it gets. 

Stand out tracks are "The Prototype", "Upload Complete", "Temp Files","The Parabolic" and "Apotheosis".

3. Oh, Sleeper - Children Of Fire

Oh, Sleeper's last album Son Of The Morning was an amazing album, but it had the problem where the standout tracks "Son Of The Morning" and "The Finisher" were great but what was going on with the rest of the album, I couldn't tell and just completely missed it. With Children Of Fire, Oh, Sleeper took their writing prowess and gave it a tinge of djent to make one of the greatest albums of the year. The album is a concept album like the previous one, but this time they delved deeper into more morose topics and wrote some of the most emotional songs till date. Their vocalist 'Micah Kinard' is one of the best screamers in the genre and can scream with such conviction it truly feels like you're listening to a man who has lost all hope in mankind and is raising his fist towards god. He really is such an amazing vocalist. The tracks are arranged well with frequent acoustic songs for the listener to settle down to after the aural assaults of all those heavy songs. Mind you, these acoustic tracks aren't just breathers and meaningless, but rather come at relevant times. 

Stand out tracks are "Endseekers", "Hush Yael", "Means To Believe" and "In The Wake Of Pigs" which has one of the most frightening riffs I've ever heard.

2. Chevelle - Hats Off To The Bull

I guess I have to admit it. I am slightly biased towards Chevelle. They were basically a bridging band for me. Back when I was young and couldnt handle metal, they introduced me to music that was melodious yet heavy. It was also pretty simple and easy to listen to for my yet developing brain. So I have a special place for them in my heart. With Hats Off To The Bull, they managed to utilize their sound they perfected with Sci-Fi Crimes and wrote some amazing songs reminiscent of the This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In)  era. This album is a step forward for Chevelle like all the previous albums but then it leaves me wondering, where will the band go next? 

Stand out tracks are "Envy", "Face To The Floor", "Ruse", "The Meddler" and "Piñata"

1. Uneven Structure - Februus

This album.... this album is the MOST important album of the year. I'd been waiting for 2 years for this album. I heard the "Februus Extract" about more than an year ago and I knew that this was going to be epic. But how epic? I had no clue. Then the release date came and I downloaded the album. After listening to it the first time, I was left speechless. I had never before heard anything so beautiful. It had the perfect balance of heavy djent and ambient post-rock. The flow was amazing, the tracks went through seamlessly, as if the entire album was just one track. I started and I couldn't stop till the entire album was over. 

Stand out tracks are... basically the entire album. But if you want to be picky, then my favorite have to be "Awaken", "Frost", "Hail", "Awe", "Plenitude" and "Finale".

Honorable mentions:

- Protest The Hero - Scurrilous

- Animals As Leaders - Weightless

- Vildhjarta - Måsstaden

- Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

- All Shall Perish - This Is Where It Ends

- Legend - The Pale Horse

- The Black Dahlia Murder - Ritual

- Jesu - Ascension

- Devin Townsend Project - Deconstruction/Ghost

- Norma Jean - Meridional 

- August Burns Red - Leveler

- Between The Buried And Me - The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues
- Hands - Give Me Rest

Top 10 Albums Of The Year - 2011 (Part 1)

It’s that time of year again. With 2011 going off into the sunset, its time to reminiscence the awesome year it was for music. And believe me, it WAS an awesome year in music!

The amount of albums I've heard this year was immense! I'm pretty sure I've heard about 50+ albums this year. That might be a small number for some people, but that's a lot of music for me considering its all albums. Many thanks to HeavyBlog for recommending me some of the most amazing music I've heard in a very long time and keeping me up to date on the entire metal scene.

2011 was basically djent filled for me. With the djent-scene quickly catching everyone's attention with more and more bedroom-projects coming to light. Its amazing what just one person can come up with while sitting in their room.

I'll divide the list into 2 parts, with this being from No.10 to No.6 and then Part 2 from No.5 to El Numero Uno!

So without much further ado, here's my Top 10 Albums of 2011.

Let the countdown begin!

10. Xerath - II

I haven't heard a lot of symphonic-metal, but when a friend recommended 'Xerath' and told me its "symphonic-djent", I had to have a look. And I am so glad I tried it out. Their first album "I" completely blew me away. The riffs were heavy, the groove was groovy, the musicianship was spot on, and the tracks were epic.With their 2nd album, aptly titled "II", Xerath worked upon their successful formula and brought it to perfection. With songs like "Reform Part III", "Unite To Defy" and my personal favorite "Machine Insurgency" this is an album that'll take a lot of listens to fully comprehend. The only problem I had was with the constant high-pitch screaming which got annoying after a while. Their vocalist can do some amazing low-pitch growls but is strangely scarce on this album compared to the 1st. Aside from that little problem, this is an amazing album with great musicianship. Xerath are leading symphonic-metal to a new path and this album is a must listen to whoever appreciates metal with a tinge of orchestral music.
Stand out tracks are "Reform Part III", "Unite To Defy" and "Machine Insurgency".

9. Title Fight - Shed

I've never heard a lot of punk-hardcore but when I saw Title Fight's video for "Symmetry", I knew these guys did great D.I.Y.- Punk, being just a bunch of kids. Their sound was tight and their song-writing was solid and from the heart, just like a teenager. But their music sounded a lot mature than they looked. So with their 2nd album "Shed" they really shed (geddit?) their soul on this one. Its a very emotional album with just a few fast punk-ish songs. All the songs are heart-felt and emotional with just a few tracks where they seem to be having fun, but its all mostly touching stuff. 
Stand-out tracks are "27", "Shed" and "Flood Of '72".

8. Corelia - Nostalgia

This obscure band's EP I found completely by chance while traversing through the depths of the Internet. I heard a lot of good things about this band from a lot of other sources and thought to myself "I should give it a go". Disappointed, I was NOT! The songs were heavy yet beautiful. The riffing was fast and complex yet still kept that melody. I've only seen one other band do this and that band is Protest The Hero. So picture this, if Protest The Hero did djent, then this is probably what it would sound like. I was particularly blown away when I found out that the production was completely in-house with AxeFx II for the guitars and Superior Drummer 2.0 for drum tracking. And they made it sound THIS professional?! Amazing. 
Stand out tracks are  ... pretty much the entire EP since its just 5 songs. But if you still want to know which ones you should try out then, "Glass Faces", "Aviation" and "Blood Petals" would be the ones I'd recommend.

7. Mastodon - Hunter

When a band like Mastodon comes out with an album, its BIG news. They write some of the most intelligent music, give amazing performances and have some of the most epic/funniest music videos ever. No wonder they're one of the biggest progressive-metal bands at the moment. So when they come out with a new album, we should pay attention because "Hunter" is great! Its not a concept album like the previous ones, but its still got that Mastodon thing going for it. Crazy lyrics, epic sequences and just a whole round o' kick ass metal. That's what Mastodon is, really. And they've just let the steering wheel go on this one, oh what fun! 
Stand out tracks are "Curl Of The Burl", "Stargasm", "Black Tongue" and "The Hunter".

6. Decapitated - Carnival Is Forever

After the tragic accident that killed their drummer Vitek, brother to lead-guitarist Vogg and one of the greatest drummers to come out of the new age of death metal, and leaving their vocalist Covan in an indefinite coma, Decapitated seemed to be at a point where all hope was lost and they probably would have disbanded. But Vogg kept it on and found another amazing drummer Krimh, who completely filled Vitek's shoes. Then it was only a matter of time till they wrote their next album Carnival Is Forever, the follow up to one of my favorite albums, Organic Hallucinosis. The album was mostly written by Vogg and Vitek prior to the accident. But even then, you can hear the hurtfulness in the album and how the tragedy affected Vogg. For a death-metal album there are a lot of low points, where the listener is left to introspect. That is it seems more of progressive-death than straight out death-metal, but then again, I'm not complaining. This is really an amazing album. Though not as good as their last album Organic Hallucinosis, it is still a step forward for Decapitated.
Stand out tracks are "Homo Sum", the Gojira inspired "404", "Knife" and "Pest".

Well, we're down with the bottom 5 of the Top 10. Stay tuned for Part 2 of this post where I reveal my Top 5 Albums Of The Year – 2011.

Review: Chevelle - Hats Off To The Bull; Score: 4 / 5

10 years and 5 albums later, Chevelle have perfected a sound they can call their own and created an album that puts them safely at the top of the Hard Rock genre.

Chevelle is a band that has consistently been putting out great records and constantly been pushing its boundaries of sound and song-writing. In my opinion, Chevelle has never made a bad album. Every album from their first album Point #1, when they were just teenagers, they've constantly pushed the envelope and have just written some of the most amazing songs ever. Songs both filled with emotion and at times ferocity of the heaviest metal songs you've heard. And due to this reason, Chevelle has a rather good standing within the Metal community.

 With Hats Off To The Bull, they've used the sound they perfected with Sci-Fi Crimes and have written amazing songs reminiscent of both the power and emotion of the Wonder What's Next and This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In) era, along with the high production value and sound quality of Vena Sera and Sci-Fi Crimes era.

The album starts off with the heavy groove-laden 'Face To The Floor'. Chevelle have never written a song as groovy as this one. I use the term "groovy" not like the 70's disco-era, but rather as how the djent scene use it. The opener is a good upbeat song that serves as a reminder that Chevelle knows how to write catchy songs with memorable riffs such as 'The Clincher' from the album This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In).

The next few songs do not go along the same lines as the opener, where the band dwells into more morose songs such as 'Same Old Trip', 'Ruse' and the Bernie Madoff inspired track 'The Meddler'. 'Ruse' is very emotional and is one of the stand-out tracks of the album along with 'The Meddler'.

After going through such emotional "Chevelle-ish" songs we go into 'Piñata'. Another upbeat song with one of the best solos Chevelle has ever written, but is very similar to a solo I heard by another huge band, Queens Of The Stone Age.

From 'Piñata', we come to the most powerful songs Chevelle has ever written since 'Closure' from the Wonder What's Next album, 'Envy'. This track is one of my favorite tracks off the album and is just the most powerful and emotional song I've heard in a very long time. This song truly shows off Pete Loeffler's ability to write amazing lyrics, such as my favorite verse, "I may not win the race/ I may not reach the top/ Or I may not live your way/ Doesn't mean I'm stuck here". And when this is sung with Pete's angelic voice, which could make a grown man cry, it just completely drives the nail in. This track is also the first time I've ever seen Chevelle use a string arrangement to complement their songs, but its a perfect addition for the track. The song is actually rather uplifting if you read the lyrics, but its hard to say when they create such a morose atmosphere with the haunting drums, the strings and Pete's pain-filled voice. 

After 'Envy' completely destroys your self-esteem, we go off to the track which shares the same name of the album 'Hats Off To The Bull'. Its a very upbeat and catchy song that Chevelle knows how to do very well. The next are 'Arise', which is also a very uplifting song, and 'Revenge' which is another amazing emotional song which Chevelle writes well.

The next track 'Prima Donna' is the token acoustic track that Chevelle always have in their album. Though its not their best acoustic track (their best is actually 'Bend The Bracket' from This Type Of Thinking (Could Do Us In), but this is no doubt a good acoustic track.

'Clones', the last track off the album is a good closer. It ends the album in an upbeat yet provocative manner, asking us to stand up and change the way we live and not be clones.

This is an amazing album, and Chevelle have truly out-done themselves by writing some of their best songs they've written for this album. The album flows well and is a treat to listen to. But the only fault I could find was that after the 1st half of the album, the songs could not hold my attention, and after 'Envy' I sort of just drifted off. The 2nd half is not as memorable as the 1st half and they seemed uninspired. But nonetheless, this is truly a great album worthy as an addition to Chevelle's already amazing track record. And like I mentioned earlier, Chevelle has never made a bad album, and this album is testament to that.

Review: Uneven Structure - Februus. Score: 4.5 / 5

2 years in the making, Uneven Structure's album "Februus" is everything I expected and more. Its mind-bending prog-metal is the perfect balance between heavy djent, beautiful clean guitars and lush soundscapes.

The best part about Uneven Structure's new album is that they have successfully carved themselves a niche in the over-crowded djent scene. With a large number of djent-bands popping up every now and then, this album comes as a breath of fresh air. They're snippet released on youtube, formerly named as "Februus Extract", almost more than a year ago, was a sneak-peek into what they were working on. Not only did that video make "Februus" one of my most anticipated albums of the year, but it came as a ray of hope in an already crowded djent movement.

I can understand why they are often compared with djent stalwarts, "TesseracT" because of how similar their guitar tones (clean and distorted) and melodic parts sound like, but they have an entirely different thing going for them. Uneven Structure's focus is more on utilizing heavy palm-muted riffage to complement their beautiful post-rockish soundscapes that they paint. The heavy riffage only helps to create a build up to crushing crescendos, rather than TesseracT's approach of groove-laden song structures complemented with melodic and clean guitar parts. Also, TesseracT does not rely on atmosphere like Uneven Structure, where atmosphere is the main element of the band.

But enough about the band, on to the actual review of the album.

The album is actually structured in 3 parts. With the 1st segment being 'Awaken', 'Frost' and 'Hail', these tracks follow a single musical concept, till we go to the first interlude, 'Exmersion'. From here 'Buds', 'Awe' and 'Quittance' are the 2nd segment which follow a similar musical concept, till comes the second interlude 'Limbo'. After that, 'Plentitude' and 'Finale' bring the album to climactic close.

The album starts off with 'Awaken'. The band's 1st ever music-video (a beautiful visual treat in itself), which I understand why they would choose it to be their début single. Its the most straight-forward song off the album and gives you a glimpse of what the entire album has in store for you.

From 'Awaken' it goes off to 'Frost'. The youtube snippet I mentioned earlier? That was actually 'Frost', and its my personal favourite off the album. There's just something about the part at 2:31 that makes me go all wind-mill. The first time I heard the youtube track, I instantly knew the potential in it, and I loved every moment of it. It has everything. Crushing djent, heavy groove-laden riffage, soft post-rockish atmosphere, clean guitar melodies and an awesome end to an amazing song.

Just before you realize 'Frost' is over, 'Hail' kicks in... hard.

After the heavy barrage of 'Hail' you're given a moment to catch your breath with 'Exmersion'. The band shows off their ability to create a soothing atmosphere with ambient music, which is really what you need after going through such complex tracks like 'Awaken', 'Frost' and 'Hail'.

With 'Exmersion' fading off into the silence the band brings us slowly back into the djent with 'Buds'. From here on, its more heavy music with 'Awe' and 'Quittance' which might be one of the heaviest tracks off the album, till we literally go into 'Limbo'. A track so heavy with atmosphere, you could cut it with a knife.

'Limbo' is the last time you'll get a chance to catch your breath, till we move into the last segment of the album, 'Plentitude' and 'Finale'. Here, the band shows off how it can completely grab you and take you through a musical journey and create one of the most climactic endings I've heard in a very long time. You won't be wrong to assume that both 'Plentitude' and 'Finale' are actually one complete song, because it obviously seemed that way to me when I heard it. 'Finale' sounds like its the outro to 'Plentitude'. The same musical progression continues from 'Plentitude' into 'Finale' which then eventually fades out to end the album.

The entire album is so flawlessly seamed together, its hard to tell when one track ends and the other starts. A feat almost impossible to pull off, but Uneven Structure do it effortlessly. The continuity of the album from one track to the other is perfect, which makes it feel as if the entire album was supposed to be heard in one go.

There is also a 2nd CD that comes along with the album containing 3 tracks, which all together are almost half an hour long. They're entirely ambient tracks, which would not seem out of place as a movie or video-game score. It sort of reminded me of the soundtrack to Limbo, but then again, I couldn't tell the difference between one ambient track to the next. That's why I don't have much to say about this CD. I honestly, couldn't tell the difference between any of the 3 tracks. It seems the mastermind behind Uneven Structure, Iggy, is a huge ambient-head. Having an ambient side-project, "worC", its no wonder he would include something like this on "Februus". But then again, I'm not complaining because that's a genre I'm not at all familiar with.

If you want, you can skip the 2nd CD, but I think you should still give it a chance. Its not really my cup of tea, but I rather enjoyed a few parts of it.

Overall, this is an awesome album! Probably the most amazing album I've heard since "The Ocean - Precambrian" (that album was a total mind-job, by the way). But "Februus" is such an amazingly, well structured album that you can't help but listen all the way through. The layer upon layer of textures creates such a thick atmosphere that you'll be lost in the fuzz of guitars and at times the cooing of the vocalist. That is, till his screams (bundled with the heavy djent) comes back to wake you up again.

This album is a must listen for any metal-head who likes to dabble in the progressive side of music. And if anything "post" is your thing, then you'll completely love this album.

The HAARP Machine Denied Entry Into USA. Go Figure!

The HAARP Machine, a death metal band from Reading, UK were recently denied entry into the US for their upcoming tour, playing along side Decapitated. Why you ask? No clue, yet. But here are a few things that could've forced the US government into taking this decision.

1. The lead guitarist (the dude on the extreme left), whose name is Al' Mumin. A Muslim and probably a desi (well, I think so). He's also sort of middle-eastern looking, isn't he? Especially with the shumagh (head scarf) and the beard. Well, to most ignorant westerners, he looks absolutely middle-eastern. Would that have to do with anything? I'd like to suspect it does.

 2. The name of the band "The HAARP Machine". A conspiracy theory involving the US government, with something to do with a research project to alter the weather and/or use it as a weapon. My knowledge on this subject is quite low, so I'm not going to say anything more than, its a conspiracy theory.

 3. They're a Death-Metal band. A genre of music so extreme, most people can't fathom the gory lyrics and super fast music which mostly sounds like noise to the general public. Even metalheads go "WTF?!" when they hear death-metal. Its that extreme! Even bands like Cannibal Corpse and Nile weren't allowed in some countries. (Dont know about Nile, but I know for a fact Cannibal Corpse were denied entry into Australia). 

4. 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The US government has been paranoid beyond comprehension ever since that catastrophe occured. Everyone I know (which are mostly Muslim btw) have had trouble getting into or just passing through the US. So I'm certain anyone who looks even remotely Muslim is a no-no on American soil.

 So this brings me to question, could racial profiling be the reason for denying them entry? As a Muslim living in the West, my personal experience says, "yes". Several "random" checks on flights have led me to believe this is an obvious case of racial profiling.

Rant: Voting For A Scholarship

A few people have come up to me, asking for me to vote for them on a website which "allegedly" is going to give the winner of a voting contest, a $2000 scholarship (or a full scholarship depending on who asked me). Strange, isn't it?

Not only did I find this a crazy way of deciding who should get a scholarship, but isn't it just unfair as well? I mean, when did getting a scholarship turn into a popularity contest? Doesn't the desire to study count for anything any more?

So according to this type of scholarship schemes, if you've got good people skills, lots of friends (I use the term "friends" very liberally here), and not have a problem with whoring yourself out, then you definitely deserve a scholarship. You've got to be kidding me, right?! Whatever happened to assessing a person for a scholarship on the basis of how good their academics are?

I can't help but wonder if these scholarship trusts have a hidden agenda with these types of schemes. An underlying fine-print yet to be read. Because it just makes no sense why anyone in their right mind would determine if a person is eligible for a scholarship on the basis of his capability to herd in everyone they know into voting for them. What about the other guy who is actually too poor to afford a scholarship? He doesn't have an entire arsenal of voters at the tip of his hands! What if his academics were better than the person who got the scholarship? Does his ability and commitment to study hard not mean anything? Instead a person who has good social skills is better suited for an academic scholarship.

No, that's just bullshit. Its not necessary that people who are good at interacting with other people would be better at academics. Most book-worms I know are shy people. And I guess its a "nerd-thing" to be socially inept. But that doesn't mean just because someone is a social pariah, he should be punished like this. How are "social-skills" a criteria for an "academic" scholarship?!

Are the people granting the scholarship so incompetent that they have no way to assess a candidate's eligibility that they have to resort to general voting? That's just stupid. I'm sure there's a hidden agenda here somewhere. Like a lewd marketing scheme you know is wrong but you just can't put your finger on what it is.

By the way, the links to the voting scholarships can be found here and here.