 To offset my depression and try to work on more That drummer Guy related stuff in 2019. I have decided to do something new by reviewing The Top 10 Albums of each month going forward. Don't get worried, my year end stuff will be in tact and as plentiful as ever. But now you get to hear about some of those albums just a tad earlier and enjoy them as long as I do.
Few Rules First: 1.) This will happen every Monday after the last Friday of each month to cover as much ground as possible for each month. 2.) This will be in ALPHABETICAL ORDER! Not going away all my year end stuff. I want that to mean as much as ever. 3.) This will only be for the current month. While I get some albums MONTHS in advance, I wanna cover the current month. 4.) If an album you think deserves to be on here and it isn't it's because I haven't heard it yet, haven't heard it enough, or just not my bag...baby. So let's get cracking with the 10 best albums of January 2019! A Pale Horse Named Death- When The World Becomes Undone FFO- Gothic Metal, Doom Rock, Alternative Metal The 3rd album from this powerhouse of a group showcases some of the darkest, bleakest, yet oddly uplifting music in the band's career. The band carries on with their brand of rock and metal with loving tribute to Type O Negative (how could it not?) but is separated enough to have their own sound in this dark world we live in. In all honesty, I needed this album this year. It hits so many tropes of what I'm currently going through mentally and if you are feeling down, this is an album I highly recommend to help bring some peace into your life. A must hear from a band that deserves to take over the world. Altarage- The Approaching Roar FFO- Extreme Metal, Blackened Death Metal Portal This album fills that void of chaos you need in your life. The band's 3rd album is at their most aggressive, most hostile, and most horrific in the best ways possible. The production is perfect for the style, The songs vary in intensity but doesn't stop it's relentless terror. If you dig bands like Portal but have never heard Altarage, you are seriously missing out. The Drowned God- I'll Always Be The Same FFO- Post Hardcore, Crust Punk, Blackgaze It is an odd mix, but a mix that works so perfectly. Taking the atmosphere of post hardcore, emo and post rock, with the tinges of black metal and crust punk to make a unique sound that really strikes a chord with the darkest parts of your emotions. Mix Deftones, Deafheaven, and Explosions in The Sky in a melancholic blender and you got an absolutely solid album Evergrey- The Atlantic FFO- Progressive Power Metal, Dark Metal The kings of dark metal have returned with their latest opus and continuation of their current concept covering oceans. The album is filled to the brim with catchy, haunting riffs. The production is top notch, and Tom Englund's voice continues to have the most heart breaking soul you will hear in heavy music. Evergrey refuses to disappoint and The Atlantic proves that Evergrey will carry the torch of dark metal till the end of time. Flotsam and Jetsam- The End Of Chaos FFO- Thrash Metal One of the most underrated bands in music returns with their latest musical assault. The band returns as fast, heavy, thrashy, and catchy as ever. Covering so much ground from their past, yet modern enough (with perfect production) that really hits the thrasher's heart and soul. This is what all thrash albums should aspire to be going forward. Kane Roberts- The New Normal FFO- Heavy Metal, Hard Rock This album covers so much ground, musically, that I love. You have the Iced Earth vibe of King Of The World, to the dark and heavy Beginning of the End (Which features the legendary Alice Cooper and extreme vocals of Alissa White-Gluz) to powerful ballads like Forever Out of Place. Basically, no matter your style of rock and metal enjoyment, there is something here for you. That just may be The New Normal. Nailed To Obscurity- Black Frost FFO- Doom Metal, Melodic Death Metal This band continues continues to hit you harder and hard with every subsequent album. Black Frost hits right at home with dark overtones, beautiful passages of music and that melancholic tone that really makes the band what they are. If you love doom, melodeath or dark music in general, Nailed To Obscurity should be your new musical obsession. Soilwork- Verkiligheten FFO- Progressive Metal, Melodeath, Hard Rock This band can seriously do no wrong. With every album in the last album, the band continues to explore how extreme, yet progressive, yet catchy the band is possible of being. With this album, it continues to hit levels of controlled chaos and hits even closer to hard rock/radio rock territory, without losing a single drop of intensity. One of the most adventurous, yet mainstream albums, the band has made to date. I did a whole track by track review of the album here: www.thatdrummerguy.com/written-material/album-review-soilwork-verkligheten Swallow The Sun- When A Shadow Is Forced Into The Light FFO- Doom Metal, Melodeath There is something to be said about a band who put out a trilogy of albums a couple years back showing off everything the band is capable of at the time; yet come back in 2019 and write one of the most poignant, soul crushing, and hauntingly beautiful albums in their career. This album covers the bases of loss, love, and everything in between so majestically. This is the perfect gateway album to the band and will easily be one of the best albums of the year. Get ready for a trip around the darkest depths of your mind and coming out the end with a purged soul. Together To The Stars- An Oblivion Above FFO- Post Black Metal, Blackgaze Of course it's in a Scandinavian Country where a genre is perfected. Together To The Stars perfectly captures what bands in the blackgaze, post black metal genre have been trying to do for years. A seamless blend of dark and light, emotional and heartbreaking, and easily some of the best production of it's style that it's crystal clear, yet raw enough to violate the senses. A band you really should not pass on if this intrigues you, I couldn't recommend it more. And that's what we got for January 2019. As you can tell, January is a good month for some of the darkest albums to come out (with winter hitting us and all) and a good blend of great genres that really shows us that 2019 is a year that will contain some absolutely amazing music. I already have enough albums to do February's list. But I have so much catching up to do for next month that it'll have to wait. So enjoy these ten albums now and see why good music never stops coming out. - Josh Rundquist (That Drummer Guy) |
